


Are You A Library Book? Because I'd Love To Check You Out

by SugarLeigh



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Anal Sex, Bottom Na Jaemin, I mean can 19k be considered a slow burn?, Lee Jeno is Whipped, M/M, Mutual Pining, Na Jaemin is Whipped, Oblivious Lee Jeno, Oral Sex, Slow Burn, Strangers to Friends to Lovers, Strangers to Lovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-04
Updated: 2020-05-04
Packaged: 2021-03-02 20:48:06
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 19,842
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24003079
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SugarLeigh/pseuds/SugarLeigh
Summary: “I’m Jaemin, by the way. Na Jaemin. Junior. Dance major.” His voice is a little higher than Jeno expected, Jaemin’s smile is bright, and his eyes are honest and kind. His pink hair is a little more messy after the laughing session, his baseball cap slightly askew, but he’s pretty.Yeah. Pretty.“I’m Lee Jeno, also a junior. Pre-med.” Jaemin raises an eyebrow, a half smile forming on his face.“Attractive and smart to boot? Aren’t I lucky that we’re now required by the laws of the universe to be friends after sharing a trauma like this?” Jeno chuckles.“Laws of the universe, huh?” Jaemin nods emphatically.“I don’t make the rules; I just have to follow them."--Jeno and Jaemin meet because of an awkward situation and find that maybe the universe has a plan for them after all.
Relationships: Lee Jeno/Na Jaemin
Comments: 35
Kudos: 416





	Are You A Library Book? Because I'd Love To Check You Out

**Author's Note:**

> So in the time it's taken me to post again, I've moved to South Korea. I'm not sure if that says more about my impulsivity or how inconsistent I am in posting.

At first, Jeno thought he was just hearing things. Lofi hip-hop artists love to hide sounds in the background of their songs all the time, and Jeno has never listened to this mix before, so it’s not completely unlikely to think that maybe, just maybe, the sound of moans were part of the playlist. Then the song stops, whether for a break between two tracks or the pause between the mix ending and the YouTube auto-play queueing up the next playlist, but the music stops and the moans continue. Jeno rips off his headphones, glancing around. 

The fourth floor of the library isn’t a hotspot for people on Friday nights. Not only is it the ‘breathe too loudly and perish beneath the judgmental glares of your peers’ floor, but it’s also the university library. On a Friday night. When it’s not finals week. Tables line the outside of the room, spaced three library shelves apart, and Jeno always tries to snag the table in the back left corner so he can have his back to the wall, which means no one can see when it’s been two hours and all he’s done is spent way too much time on Reddit and not enough time on all the homework stacked around him. From where he sits, Jeno sees that the only other person in the general vicinity is sitting at the table directly in front of Jeno, and he’s plugged into his laptop like Jeno was, over-the-ear headphones pulled over his baseball cap, pink hair curling around the brim. Jeno hears music start up again, softly filtering through his earbuds where they lay on the table, but the sound of grunting and skin hitting skin is undeniable.

Heat rushes to Jeno’s cheeks. Glancing around, he weighs his options. Does he try to find them? Does he really want to find them? Should he just ignore it? Of all places to fuck, why in the hell would anyone pick the library, let alone the top floor of the library? A particularly loud whine jolts Jeno from his thoughts. He looks over at the pink haired guy to see if he’s heard them yet just to see that Pink Hair is already looking at Jeno, eyebrow quirked, one side of his mouth tugged down. He looks confused, concerned maybe, but not outright frazzled like Jeno. Jeno motions for him to take his headphones off. Cautiously, the guy reaches up and pulls his headphones down to rest on his neck.

A choked-off moan rips through the air.

Both of the guy’s eyebrows fly up until they’re hidden beneath his baseball cap. Jeno shrugs helplessly. A loud thud rings out; a book hitting the floor, maybe. Hopefully. Jeno sighs. Pink Hair bites his lip, looking like he’s about to combust with laughter. Jeno stares forlornly at the mountain of work he has yet to accomplish.

_“What do we do?”_ He mouths at Pink Hair. He shrugs at Jeno.

_“Maybe they’ll finish soon?”_ The sound of skin slapping together increases in tempo, now accompanied by a constant high pitch whine. Jeno looks over at Pink Hair in distress. He laughs, giggles now audible to Jeno, quiet but bright. The skin slapping stops, and the two look at each other wide-eyed.

“No one’s up here, baby. I checked.” Jeno rolls his eyes. What a douche. Pink Hair slips out of his seat and sneaks over to Jeno’s table, gently pulls out a chair, and sits down. He steals the notebook Jeno had out, biochem, and a pen. He starts writing.

_The way I see it, we have two options: One, we pretend we haven’t heard anything, put our headphones back on, and get back to work. Judging by your face, that’s probably not going to happen. Second option is we pack up as quietly as we can and then book it for the stairs and hope for the best. What say you?_

Jeno looks at the pile of books once again. He has the worksheet for biochem due Monday, a research paper outline due Tuesday by 3pm, and three chapters of _Dracula_ that he has to read and annotate by Wednesday morning. On the other hand, it sounds like Douchebag McGee has decided to try his hand at dirty talk. It’s atrocious. 

“Yeah, you like that baby? You like my big, fat cock scrambling your insides? Gonna make you gush on my cock?” Jeno is embarrassed for him. The disgust Jeno feels is reflected on Pink Hair’s face. Jeno grabs the pen and notebook.

_Option Two._ Jeno circles and underlines it for added emphasis. Pink Hair nods, presses a finger to his lips, and moves carefully to his table to gather his things. Jeno follows his lead, slowly closing his computer, and gently places each book into his bag. As soundlessly as he can, Jeno zips his backpack, stopping every few seconds to double-check that the underlying moaning and dirty talk hasn’t stopped. 

Jeno looks over to Pink Hair and sees that he’s ready to go. He motions for Jeno to come over to him. Utilizing all possible grace that he’s managed to obtain from sports, Jeno slinks over to the guy. Pink Hair grabs Jeno’s hand tightly in his, linking their fingers together with a smirk, and hunches down as he pulls Jeno towards the stairs. The closer they get, the louder the moans, and now Jeno can smell the stench of sex. Which is just. Awful. It’s awful.

They get to the stairs without seeing anything terrible, and the moans and groans go uninterrupted. Stepping lightly, they quickly make it down the stairs. They don’t pause for a single second once they hit the ground floor, avoiding eye contact with the librarians manning the checkout desk, and walking right out the front door. It’s dark out now, what with fall quickly turning over into winter. The breeze sends shivers down Jeno’s spine, but it feels nice against his still flaming face.

Pink Hair squeezes his hand. Jeno looks over at him. The moment their eyes meet, the guy starts chuckling. Jeno lets the situation wash over him; he snorts a laugh. That sends the guy into more laughter, and Jeno joins him until they’re leaning against one another, holding each other up as they laugh.

Jeno manages to stop laughing first. He watches as the guy collects himself, wiping under his eyes with one hand while the other still rests warmly in Jeno’s.

“I’m Jaemin, by the way. Na Jaemin. Junior. Dance major.” His voice is a little higher than Jeno expected, Jaemin’s smile is bright, and his eyes are honest and kind. His pink hair is a little more messy after the laughing session, his baseball cap slightly askew, but he’s pretty.

Yeah. Pretty.

“I’m Lee Jeno, also a junior. Pre-med.” Jaemin raises an eyebrow, a half smile forming on his face.

“Attractive and smart to boot? Aren’t I lucky that we’re now required by the laws of the universe to be friends after sharing a trauma like this?” Jeno chuckles.

“Laws of the universe, huh?” Jaemin nods emphatically.

“I don’t make the rules; I just have to follow them. Here, put your number in.” Jeno take Jaemin’s phone in one hand, his other still held hostage by Jaemin. Quickly, he puts in his number, shooting himself a text so he’ll have Jaemin’s number, too.

“Well, I should probably get going. I still have all that stuff to do that I couldn’t because someone couldn’t bang in their own room” Jeno rolls his eyes. Seriously, he gets that the dorm beds aren’t the best and sometimes squeak at inopportune moments while going at it or that having roommates can make things difficult, but Jeno would think that the library would probably be at least number eight or nine on the top ten places to have sex on the university grounds. Jaemin squeezes Jeno’s hand before letting go.

“I’ll see you around, yeah?” Jaemin smiles at Jeno earnestly. His heart clenches uncomfortably.

“Yeah, laws of the universe, remember?” Jeno smiles at him as he steps backwards, and with a small wave, they part ways, with Jeno headed towards his apartment. It’ll have to do as a study room tonight; hopefully Renjun doesn’t have the rest of the China line over.

Thankfully, it’s just Renjun waiting for him when he gets back to their apartment. He’s bundled in an overly large sweater and is hunched over a book with glasses slipping down his nose. When Jeno tells him about what just happened, Renjun stares at him deadpan.

“You’re fucking joking.” Jeno rolls his eyes as he takes a seat next to Renjun at their shitty clothes-trunk-turned-coffee-table set up in their living room. 

“Why would I lie about something like this?” Renjun pushes his glasses up his nose.

“You once told me that you saved a kitten from a tree as an excuse for why you missed us meeting up for dinner.”

“But there really was a kitten in a tree! I had the picture to prove it!”

“The picture is literally the first image that pops up when you type ‘kitten in tree’ into Naver.”

“Coincidence?” Renjun flicks him in the forehead. For someone so tiny, he packs a hell of a punch. Flick. Whatever. “Okay, but this seriously happened, and I’m traumatized, Renjun. Traumatized! I’m but a poor, innocent boy, now defiled by this cruel, cruel world.” Renjun levels him with an unimpressed stare. Jeno pouts.

“Did you at least get the kid’s number?”

“Yeah, he said that we’re friends now. Law of the universe or something.”

“Why do you only attract weirdos?”  
“You realize that you’re lumped into that, right?”

“You attached yourself to me and refused to let go. Totally different.”

“Right.”

It’s been almost a week since the ‘Library Incident 2k20’, as Jeno has come to call it, occurred, and despite how many times Jeno has pulled up Jaemin’s contact in his phone, typed out a new message, thumb hovering over the send button, Jeno still hasn’t reached out. The way he figures it, Jaemin seems like the outgoing type. If he really wanted to keep into contact with Jeno, he would text him himself. Jaemin probably just said the whole ‘friends’ spiel out of pity or a way to break the ice or something. Jeno should probably just stop thinking about it.

And honestly? Jeno’s kind of getting tired of the look that Renjun gives him every time he starts playing on his phone. Sometimes, he just wants to play Piano Keys in peace.

Jeno takes a moment to stretch out in the sun. He set up in the student center today because it’s sunny. So, while it’s still balls cold outside, Jeno can soak up the warmth through the multitude of windows and not have to deal with freezing to death because of the wind. 

Resting his hands behind his head, Jeno closes his eyes. He breathes deeply, clearing his head. The only reason he’s so hung up on Jaemin is because of the situation they met. It was super weird. Which makes Jaemin really memorable. It’s definitely not because he looked flawless without trying or because his laugh was bright and welcoming or because not many guys would try dyeing their hair pink, let alone pull it off by being adorable and hot.

Jeno forces his breath through his nose in a quick exhale. Clear his mind. Clear it all out. It’s just one of those wacky college stories of happenstance that will never come to fruition, and that’s okay. Jeno is okay with that.

“Jeno?” He whips his head around so fast that his neck cracks. Ow. Think of the devil, and he shall appear; isn’t that how the saying goes? Jaemin looks good. His baseball cap is missing, so Jeno can see all of the glory that is the pink hair.

“Jaemin. Hey,” Jeno croaks out. He quickly takes a drink of water as he turns to fully face Jaemin. Who is pouting. Is that legal? It shouldn’t be.

“You never texted me. The universe is very upset with you right now.” There’s laughter behind Jaemin’s words that make Jeno smile.

“The universe must also upset with you. You could’ve texted me, too.” Jaemin cocks his head.

“Maybe I wanted you to text me first.” Jeno stares at Jaemin, who meets his eye with a small smile. Jeno keeps Jaemin’s gaze as he pulls out his cell phone. Quickly navigating to his messaging app, Jeno pulls up a blank text. He taps out the first thing he thinks of and sends it before he can second guess himself. Jaemin’s smile widens to a grin as he pulls his phone from his back pocket. Heat rushes into Jeno’s cheeks as Jaemin takes a second to read the message. Jaemin’s laugh cuts through the chatter of the student center.

“I think that is the worst pick-up line I’ve ever read. And I’ve heard plenty of bad ones.” Jaemin smiles at Jeno, though, breaking into giggles every so often like he can’t help it, so it can’t have been that bad. Jeno shrugs.

“It was the first think that popped into my head.” Jaemin laughs again, tapping something out on his phone. Jeno’s phone beeps.

“You’re funny, Lee Jeno. I have to run to class now, but you should text me.” Jaemin looks at Jeno with a playful glare. “And actually text me. Don’t make me come and find you again.” Jeno smiles shyly at Jaemin, fights the urge to ask if Jaemin would actually come and find him.

“Okay, I will.” Jaemin keeps staring at him intently until Jeno has to look away. “I will, I promise!” The glare melts off of Jaemin’s face and slides into a crooked smile.

“I’m going to hold you to that,” Jaemin says quietly. “Have a good day, Jeno-yah!” Jeno watches him until Jaemin pushes his way out of the student center. He has to blink a few times to readjust his contacts from his staring. 

Once he can properly see again, Jeno taps his phone and sees the message that Jaemin sent him.

_To Jaemin:_

_You don’t look so good. I think you’re suffering from a lack of Vitamin Me_

_From Jaemin:_

_How much does a polar bear weigh? Enough to break the ice! Text me ^^_

Despite himself, Jeno chuckles at the equally bad pick-up line. Jeno sends Jaemin a gif of someone facepalming before trying to tuck back into his homework.

_To Jaemin:_

_I think my roommate might be a sleeper agent sent by China to take over Korea_

_From Jaemin:_

_Well. That wasn’t what I expected our first conversation to be about. But I have. So many questions?_

_To Jaemin:_

_He just walked into our room with a coil of rope, a shovel, and a pissed off look on his face. I’m terrified._

_To Jaemin:_

_And technically, our first conversation was bad pickup lines._

_To Jaemin:_

_What did you think it was going to be about?_

_From Jaemin:_

_So tell me more about your secret assassin roommate_

_``_

_From Jaemin:_

_I found a dog._

_To Jaemin:_

_Tell me you didn’t steal a dog_

_From Jaemin:_

_I didn’t…not steal a dog_

_To Jaemin:_

_Is this aiding and abetting? Am I your unwilling accomplice???_

_From Jaemin:_

_But he looks just like you!_

_To Jaemin:_

_…What does that even mean?_

_From Jaemin:_

_[pic attachment]_

_To Jaemin:_

_Oh my god_

_From Jaemin:_

_Right???_

_``_

_To Jaemin:_

_Hey Jaemin._

_To Jaemin:_

_Do u evr wondr abt the libarry coupl?_

_To Jaemin:_

_Jaeminah_

_To Jaemin:_

_Jaemin ahhhhh_

_To Jaemin:_

_Jaeminaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh_

_From Jaemin:_

_It’s 3:30 in the morning_

_To Jaemin:_

_Do u thnk theyr in a realnshp?_

_To Jaemin:_

_Do yu think thyr happpy?_

_To Jaemin:_

_Do y u thnik th’rE GONG OT GT MRRIED?_

_From Jaemin:_

_Are you okay?_

_To Jaemin:_

_May be a litl drnk_

_To Jaemin:_

_Lnog weke_

_From Jaemin:_

_I doubt the library couple is still together._

_To Jaemin:_

_o.o_

_From Jaemin:_

_She was obviously faking_

_To Jaemin:_

_O.O_

_From Jaemin:_

_And he was wayyyyyyy too cocky, but probably not… Cocky if you know what I mean. Also, you heard his awful dirty talk. He was too into it and she totally wasn’t._

_To Jaemin:_

_Jaeminah noooooooooo_

_From Jaemin:_

_Drink some water and get some sleep, Jenoyah_

_To Jaemin:_

_Im still rootng fr them_

_From Jaemin:_

_Sleeeeeeeeepppppppp_

“So, who are you texting all the time?”

“Hm?” Jeno glances at Renjun from where he’s trying to find the perfect gif to send to Jaemin. He knows he’s seen it before, but Jeno can’t remember what key-words he used to find it the last time. Renjun rolls his eyes.

“I swear I never see you without your phone in your hand anymore.” Jeno decides to forgo his original gif and slap in a different one that gives the same mood. Plus it has a panda, so that’s even better. With a quick tap, he sends it off to Jaemin and locks his phone.

“Yes, grandpa Renjun. I’m a damn gen z-er with a damn phone glued to my damn hand at all times. It’s really making the world go downhill, I agree.” Renjun shoots Jeno a glare, at which he smiles back innocently.

“You know what I mean.”

“I really don’t.” Jeno’s statement is undercut by his text tone ringing out loud and bright. Followed by another. And another. Renjun raises an eyebrow at Jeno. Jeno wriggles in place under his watchful eye. The stare down lasts for all of fifteen seconds because Jeno is weak, and Renjun is terrifying. 

“Okay, fine,” Jeno huffs. “Do you remember the thing that happened at the library?” Renjun snorts.

“Yeah, that’s a hard story to forget.”

“And Jaemin?”

“You finally got the balls to text him? Color me impressed.” Jeno rolls his eyes at Renjun’s mocking words.

“…Not exactly. I ran into him again on campus. He guilted me into texting him, and we kinda haven’t stopped since?” Jeno refuses to meet Renjun’s eye.

“I take it back; I disown you.”

“You’re not my real dad!”

“I will kick you out of the apartment.”

“Like you’re much better!” Jeno shoves his head into Renjun’s lap and gazes up at him innocently. “How’s Lucas doing, Renjunnie? Or should I say Yukhei? Or have you progressed to,” Jeno drops his voice to a dramatic whisper, “Xuxi?” Renjun twists Jeno’s ear with his left hand and hauls him out of his lap with his right.

“No one will find you body,” Renjun hisses. He stalks out of the living room and slams his bedroom door closed. Jeno would be more worried if it wasn’t for a prominent blush across his face. But he still makes a mental note to keep his bedroom door locked and barricaded when he goes to sleep tonight.

_From Jaemin:_

_Okay, okay, okay, you win! I humbly bow before your meme knowledge._

_From Jaemin:_

_Though, I feel like I should be worried about how much time you spend on the internet._

_From Jaemin:_

_Is this why you’re so pale???_

_To Jaemin:_

_Okay one, rude. I’m the master of the memes, you should bow before me immediately. Two, I don’t spend THAT much time on the internet. Three, I’M NOT PALE OKAY. JUST BECAUSE YOU TURN GOLDEN BROWN AND DELICIOUS AS SOON AS YOU STEP IN THE SUN DOESN’T MEAN THAT I’M PALE._

_To Jaemin:_

_On a more pressing note, if I happen to go missing in the next two hours or so, please point the police towards the Han River. I may or may not have pissed off the Chinese assassin._

_From Jaemin:_

_Golden brown and delicious, huh? ;)_

_To Jaemin:_

_Never mind. I’ll save the assassin the trouble and yeet myself off the top of the library._

_From Jaemin:_

_No come baaaaaaack Nono! I’ll protect you from the mean assassin!_

An excited yell is all the notice Jeno gets before a solid weight thumps its way onto his back. Long legs wrap around his waist while arms wind securely around his shoulders.

“It’s a good thing I didn’t have my backpack,” Jeno says dryly. He loops his hands under Jaemin’s knees and settles him more comfortably on his back.

“Pssh, just a slight obstacle to overcome,” Jaemin replies, slightly breathless. His words are warm against Jeno’s ear. He shivers, hoping that Jaemin will just chalk it up to the wind cutting through his hoodie.

“Is there a reason you’re accosting me or did it just seem like a good time?” Jeno doesn’t really know where his feet are leading him. Initially, he was going to go to the convenience store to get food for dinner, but he doesn’t really want to have Jaemin slide off his back so soon. In Jeno’s defense, Jaemin is practically a furnace, so having his chest pressed firmly to Jeno’s back makes it so Jeno isn’t as cold. 

“Jeno! You wound me!” He can hear the pout in Jaemin’s voice.

“So, just sounded like a good time. Right.”

“Jeno,” Jaemin whimpers pathetically. The arms around his shoulders tighten into a hug. “I saw you walking across campus and realized that we never hang out. So I was gonna ask if you were free to get dinner or something, but you’re being mean so now I don’t wanna.” Jaemin drops his arms, slumping against Jeno’s back but still doesn’t make a move to get down. Jeno stops walking, chuckling. He cranes his neck and tries to catch a glimpse of the boy on his back. Fluffy pink hair crowds his vision and tickles his nose. Jeno gives up when his neck starts to ache, jostling Jaemin slightly instead.

“Where do you wanna eat?” Immediately, Jaemin wraps tightly around Jeno once more.

“If you were busy, we don’t have to do this now. I won’t be offended; I promise!”

“Nah, I was just on my way to pick up ramyeon from the convenience store for dinner, so you’re saving me really. What do you want to eat?” Jaemin doesn’t say anything as he slides off Jeno’s back. Jeno misses the warmth instantly but refrains from tightening his grip to try and keep him there. That would just be creepy. He turns to face Jaemin and is met with a solemn face. 

“You, a pre-med beefcake, eat ramyeon from the convenience store for dinner?” Jeno raises his eyebrow at Jaemin.

“I’m a college student, Jaemin-ah. All college students eat ramyeon for dinner at least three times a week.”

“I don’t!”

“Then you’re a unicorn because I’m pretty sure you’re not real.” Jaemin laughs at that.

“You’re only pretty sure that unicorns aren’t real?” Jeno tries to frown, to look seriously at Jaemin, but it’s so hard when Jaemin’s smile and laughter is as infectious as it is. Regardless, Jeno trudges on.

“I mean, just because I haven’t seen one doesn’t mean they don’t exist. And sure, scientists will tell you they don’t, but some also say aliens aren’t real, so how much can we actually trust them?” Jaemin laughs harder, collapsing into Jeno’s shoulder to stay upright. Jeno smiles, face flushing and chest warm at Jaemin’s reaction. When he finally calms down, Jaemin grabs Jeno’s hand and starts pulling him.

“Alright, you loon, let’s go eat.”

Jaemin takes him to a bibimbap shop near campus. It’s a small, hole in the wall kind of place, the sort of store that Jeno has probably glanced past many times prior, which means that it’s not too difficult for them to find an empty table after placing their order.

“How are your classes going?” Jeno asks once they’re settled. Jaemin’s classes always sound so much more interesting that his own. Then again, when you have a practical square dancing class, it’s bound to bring some funny stories of legitimate dance moves names and people colliding when they forget which way to turn where as Jeno’s classes are all more along the lines of ‘How Much Do You Hate Yourself Chemistry’ and ‘Cut Up This Cute Animal in the Name of Science Biology’ and ‘Physics… What’s Up With That?’

“Ugh.” Jaemin throws himself onto the table, just narrowly missing his drink. Jeno rolls his eyes with a smile and moves it out of the way.

“That good, huh?” Jaemin groans again before pulling himself upright. His hair is now ruffled, messily strewn over his forehead. A blush sits high on his cheeks from the tantrum, and with the low lighting of the restaurant, Jaemin’s eyes seem to twinkle. An uncomfortable tightness links its way around Jeno’s chest, but he can’t not look at Jaemin.

“It’s really not that bad. It’s just… You remember me telling you about my contemporary dance class?” Jeno takes a drink of his water, trying to loosen the vice grip on his ribs. He nods.

“The one with the asshole professor, right?”

“Such an asshole!” Jaemin slouches and pouts. “For finals, he’s making us do a practical exam, which is fine. But we have to choreograph a dance to a song that Professor Byun picked. It’s, like, a minute and thirty seconds, and we all have the same song, and he already hates me, and this final is worth, like, forty percent of our entire grade!”

“Come one; I’m sure he doesn’t hate you.” Jaemin levels Jeno with a deadpan stare.

“He told me that I would never make it as a dancer because I’m not manly enough to fit the manly man mold, but I’m not effeminate enough to fit the gay dancer role. Not only is he a douche, but he’s also a bigot, and he hates me.” Jeno pulls a face.

“Okay, maybe he does hate you.” Jaemin slumps onto the table. “But, he sounds like a grade A asshole, and it’s not like you’re trying to be a contemporary dancer when you graduate anyways, so… Is it really that much of a bad thing?”

“Jeno-yah. He’s the one who’s grading my final. The one that’s forty percent of our final grade. And I need to pass this class to graduate.”

“Okay, fair point.” Jeno nudges Jaemin under the table to make him sit up when the food arrives. After thanking the waitress, Jeno turns back to Jaemin who’s staring forlornly into his bibimbap, swirling it with his chopsticks. Jeno nudges Jaemin under the table again, trapping one of his feet between both of his own.

“Jaemin-ah. You’re going to kill it, okay? You’re going to do so well that it won’t matter if he hates you because he’s going to love your dance. He won’t be able to fail you because you’re gonna knock his socks off. You’re going to be great, alright?” Jaemin looks up at Jeno from under his lashes, cheeks darkening ever so slightly.

“You haven’t even seen me dance before; you can’t know—”

“You’re going to be great,” Jeno says firmly, staring Jaemin in the eye. Jaemin looks down at his food. A small smile curves its way onto Jaemin’s face, and when he looks up to meet Jeno’s gaze, he looks brighter, less bogged down.

Conversation takes a lighter turn after that. Jaemin asks him about Renjun, whom he still only knows as the Chinese assassin, which launches Jeno into the most recent disconcerting tale of how Renjun somehow managed to strap Jeno to his bed with cling wrap while he slept to get back at him for the Xuxi comment. Jeno asked about Jaemin’s roommate and was rewarded with the tale of a lifelong love/hate friendship of Jaemin and Donghyuck.

“I call us Jaehyuck. He hates it.” Jaemin beams, slurping up the last of his drink.

From there, they talk. About anything and everything that comes to mind. They pay and leave when their waitress gives them the stink eye, and they meander through campus despite it being cold, still talking, laughing until their bellies hurt. Jaemin ends up walking him to his apartment on accident but leaves Jeno with a warm hug and a promise to hang out again soon. Jeno somehow makes it up the stairs and into his apartment. As soon as he closes the door, he collapses against it.

“Everything alright? You better not be a burglar.” Jeno peels himself off of the door and waddles over to Renjun who is sitting on their shitty futon and falls into his lap. “I take it back; I’d rather have the burglar.” Jeno groans pathetically and tries to burrow himself into Renjun’s stomach. Renjun sighs. “Fine, I’ll ask. What’s wrong?” Jeno stops struggling and takes a moment to breathe. He sits up and pulls one of their squishy throw pillows to his chest.

“I don’t… I don’t really know I guess.” Renjun breathes heavily through his nose.

“You look genuinely distressed, so I’m going to try to not be an asshole. Who were you just with?”

“Jaemin.” Pink hair, breathless laughter, and a warmth against his chest fills his mind. Jeno shudders.

“Did you guys get into a fight?” Jeno shakes his head, fingers plucking at the hem of the pillow. 

“What’d you guys do?”

“Well, he jumped on my back out of nowhere because he wanted to hang out, so we went and got dinner.” Renjun raises his eyebrows.

“You only got dinner now? Jeno, it’s nearly 11pm!” 

“We didn’t just go for dinner!” Jeno says defensively. “We got to the bibimbap place at around, I don’t know, like 6pm?” 

“You were there for five hours?” Renjun asks dryly. Jeno shifts uncomfortably. They were there for a rather long time.

“We kinda got kicked out after three hours. We took a walk after that.” Renjun scoffs a laugh. 

“Okay, we’re straying from the original issue: what’s your problem? Sounds like you had a nice date with the guy you’ve been talking to for nearly a month. Did he not kiss you when he dropped you off?” Renjun looks at Jeno disapprovingly. “Did you not kiss him when you dropped him off.” The idea of kissing Jaemin gives Jeno chest pains.

“We’re not dating. It’s not like that.” Renjun’s eyes widen slightly and then narrow.

“Oh. So this is the game we’re playing.” Jeno pouts.

“I thought you said you weren’t going to be an asshole.”

“I said I was gonna try, but what can I say? My assholery pops out when you’re being a dumbass.” 

“Injunnie,” Jeno whines. “He’s pretty and funny and a dancer and sweet, and when I look at him, I feel pain.”

“‘We’re not dating,’ he says. ‘It’s not like that,’ he says,” Renjun mocks in a way too deep to be Jeno voice. 

“It’s not!” Renjun rolls his eyes and smacks Jeno in the face with his own pillow. Thankfully, it’s just as squishy as the one Jeno’s holding or else he’d be nursing a nosebleed with the force that Renjun hit him. 

“You’re a full ass idiot. I’m done with this conversation.”

“Wow, much support. Such wow,” Jeno mutters under his breath. 

“We can watch your stupid ass anime tonight if you stop complaining.”

“You’re the best, Junnie! Love you!”

_To Jaemin:_

_Hey, wanna hang out and study?_

It’s been a week or two since Jaemin and Jeno went out to dinner, and while they still text, Jeno misses the easy conversation and camaraderie they shared in person. Every time Jaemin sends back an ‘lol’ over text, Jeno sees Jaemin’s face scrunching up in a smile, hears the honey sweet laughter. Yes, Renjun constantly judges him when he has his phone in his hand and is staring off into the distance. No, it doesn’t stop Jeno from still zoning out when thinking about Jaemin.

Jeno sits on the futon, flipping his phone over and over in his hands. Where Jaemin used to text him back almost immediately, now he’s responses are becoming more and more delayed since he’s been spending more time in the dance studio working on his practical choreo. It’s weird that Jeno misses Jaemin. It’s not even like they don’t text; they do. A lot. It’s just… Jeno misses the constant contact. 

Renjun calls him clingy. Jeno doesn’t really have a response.

_From Jaemin:_

_I’m still at the studio! I finally got most of the choreo planned out, so I gotta work on cleaning it up and figuring out the rest. Sorry Nono :(_

The text tone break Jeno from his thoughts. He frowns at the message. If his messages were anything to go by, Jaemin has been in the studio every day for the past week and a half for at least four hours a day. And that’s if he’s going home at a normal time to go to sleep, which if Jeno’s being honest, isn’t likely. 

_To Jaemin:_

_When was the last time you took a break? Have you eaten today?_

Jeno worries his bottom lip with his teeth. When Jeno told Jaemin that he was going to do great, he didn’t think that Jaemin would take that as instruction to work himself into the ground.

_From Jaemin:_

_ >.> ;p_

Jeno rolls his eyes and crawls off of the futon. Checking his back pocket for his keys and wallet, he grabs a face mask and heads to the door. He thinks there’s a kimbap place that does takeout near by, and there’s a bubble tea shop on the corner. 

_From Jaemin:_

_I just really need to get this one part down! And I’m not hungry. Don’t worry: I’ve been drinking water!_

_From Jaemin:_

_Are you mad at me?_

_From Jaemin:_

_Please don’t be mad at me :(_

_From Jaemin:_

_Nono?_

_From Jaemin:_

_Jeno??_

_From Jaemin:_

_Okay, you’re worrying me._

_From Jaemin:_

_Can you at least answer to tell me you’re mad so I know that you haven’t been kidnapped or murdered or something?_

_To Jaemin:_

_What studio are you in?_

_From Jaemin:_

_What?_

_To Jaemin:_

_What studio are you in? Hurry up, this bag is heavy_

_From Jaemin:_

_204?_

Jeno takes the elevator up to the second floor because he wasn’t lying; the bag really is heavy. When he opens the door to the studio, he sees a very confused looking Jaemin sitting in the middle of the floor with his phone in his hand.

“Jeno-yah?” Jeno smiles, happy that the face mask is blocking his probably over the top reaction to seeing Jaemin. 

“You need to take a break and eat.” Jeno joins Jaemin in the middle of the studio, shoves the bubble tea into Jaemin’s grip, and starts unpacking take out containers. He got a little bit of everything because he didn’t know what Jaemin would be in the mood for, and honestly, Jeno can eat whatever. After Jeno’s laid everything out, he notices that Jaemin hasn’t moved to eat or even take a drink. Jaemin stares at Jeno with a soft look that he doesn’t know how to read.

“What?” Jaemin shakes his head slightly.

“You’re just… A really great guy, you know?” Heat floods Jeno’s face as Jaemin takes a sip of his bubble tea. He makes a noise and looks down at the cup. “How did you know my order?” Jeno busies himself with taking the lids off of the containers and putting some food on a plate for Jaemin.

“You told me.” He shoves the plate into Jaemin’s freehand and nudges the chopsticks towards him.

“When?”

“Uh, I don’t know. It just stuck out because of basic it is.” Jeno had to scroll back in his messages a long, long time to find the message. It was worth it to see Jaemin’s reaction though. Jaemin takes a big bite out of his food, cheeks puffing out.

“You eat too, Jeno-yah.” He should be grossed out by Jaemin talking with his mouth full like that, but if anything, it just makes Jeno feel fond. Ugh, Renjun’s right. Jeno is seriously whipped. 

“I will when you’re done.” Jaemin pouts. 

“But I want you to eat with me.” His eyes brighten. He snags a piece of kimbap and holds the chopsticks up to Jeno’s mouth. “Come on, Nono, take a bite,” Jaemin coos. Jeno can’t do anything other than take off his face mask, open his mouth, and let Jaemin feed him. Jaemin hums happily and turns back to eating. Jeno’s half pleased to see Jaemin eating with such gusto but the other half of him is annoyed that Jaemin’s neglecting himself.

“You should take more breaks, Nana,” Jeno says softly, not wanting to disturb the peaceful atmosphere. Jaemin sets his now mostly empty plate down and grabs one of Jeno’s hands. His hand is warm and kind of sweaty, their hands roughly the same size. 

“I just really need to do well on this.” Jaemin plays with Jeno’s fingers. Jeno grabs Jaemin’s hand in both of his to stop their fidgeting. 

“And you will. But you’ll do more harm than good if you continue working without breaks. You need food for energy. Your body needs time to heal and rest.” Jaemin quirks a half smile.

“Is that your professional opinion, Dr. Lee?” Jeno rolls his eyes. 

“That’s science, idiot.” Jaemin pouts. “Seriously, though. You have to trust in yourself. You’re an amazing dancer, so you’ll be able to ace this no problem. And if Professor Douche decides to fail you, I will personally knock him out myself.” 

“Still haven’t seen me dance yet…” Jaemin mumbles before sighing and looking to Jeno. “Okay, I’ll take more breaks.” Jeno raises his eyebrow at Jaemin.

“And?”

“And eat more.”

“And?”

“And not stay at the studio for so long?”

“And?”

“And… I don’t know. What else do you want from me, Jeno?” _Too much_ , Jeno almost says. 

“I know you love dancing, so try to enjoy your practice.” Jaemin blinks at Jeno.

“Did you seriously just tell me to have fun? How much of a dad are you!?” Jeno levels Jaemin with an unimpressed stare. “You’re right, there’s no way you’re a dad. You can barely feed yourself, let alone if you had children to take care of.”

“I don’t have to deal with this bullying,” Jeno grumbles and makes to get up. Jaemin tackles him before he manages to stand. His back is flat against the floor, and Jaemin’s warmth is pressed against him, chest to feet. 

“Thank you,” Jaemin mutters into Jeno’s chest. “Not just for the food, but… Yeah. Thanks.” Jeno runs a hand through Jaemin’s hair before he can second guess himself. 

“Of course.”

As the weeks go on, it’s harder and harder for Jeno and Jaemin to meet up and text. Thankfully, Jaemin has let up on his intense studio sessions, but with finals just around the corner, Jeno starts putting in more and more hours in the lab and at the library. He’s yet to stray up to the fourth floor since the initial incident, but the third floor works just as well even if it’s a little harder to get his preferred table. And with the need to focus, Jeno would sometimes leave his phone at home to dissuade himself from getting distracted, meaning he’s gone from texting Jaemin most of the day to only texting him for a little at night before passing out from mental exhaustion. 

Jaemin has taken to sending Jeno random selfies throughout the day. He sends stupid mirror selfies when he gets into the studio, and less stupid, more unintentionally sexy mirror selfies when he’s on his way out that make Jeno blush. Jeno gets to see what Donghyuck looks like when Jaemin sends him a snapshot of Jaemin on Donghyuck’s back. Jaemin smiles at the camera brightly while Donghyuck’s lip is pulled back into a playful snarl. Jeno secretly sets that picture as the background of his phone; he leaves the lock screen the same picture of a dog that it was before, though, so Renjun doesn’t make fun of him more than he already does.

Jeno tries to return in kind, taking pictures of himself in the library, face down in his notebooks. He takes a sneaky picture of Renjun smiling down at his phone one night, probably texting Yukhei, and sends it to Jaemin with the caption, ‘The Chinese assassin is smiling. I think I should be scared.’ 

It doesn’t get rid of the ache of wanting to see Jaemin again, but it does make it a little bit easier, being able to pull up the pictures and trace the curve of his smile with his eyes, make sure he’s not looking too tired. It’s gotten to the point that Renjun doesn’t even comment on how whipped Jeno is when he catches Jeno staring at his phone. Renjun scoffs and mutters to himself about oblivious idiots, which prompts Jeno to shout, “What up pot, it’s me! Kettle!” Because really, Renjun doesn’t have any room to speak when Yukhei follows him around campus like a lost puppy, but he’s still too nervous to ask him out on a date. 

When Jeno gets home from the library after spending most of his Saturday there, he takes a hot, hot shower. He lets the water beat across his shoulders, hoping to relieve some of the tension from being hunched over his computer for six hours, and breathes in the steam to try and clear out the headache that’s pounding in his temples. It’s days like today that make Jeno sometimes regret taking up the pre-med track. It’s hard and unforgiving and always pressure, pressure, pressure to do better, to be the best. Ultimately, Jeno knows that he wouldn’t want to do anything else, but sometimes it’s nice to fantasize about doing something else, like art or maybe dance like Jaemin even though those come with their own set of expectations and pressures.

Jeno crawls out of the shower once the water starts to cool off. He pops out his contacts and puts his glasses on, yanking on the softest pair of sweatpants and hoodie that he owns, and towel dries his hair until it stops dripping. He stumbles to his bedroom and collapses onto his bed with a groan. Today was a day full of chemistry notes, and Jeno’s honestly beginning to think that he’s going to start having nightmares of chemical equations. 

Jeno grabs his phone from his bedside table and flicks through his different notifications: Instagram, Facebook, a text from his mom checking in, Renjun reminding him that he’s going grocery shopping tomorrow so add to the list or forever hold his peace, and three texts from Jaemin. 

_From Jaemin:_

_Only one more week until finals!_

_From Jaemin:_

_[pic attachment]_

_From Jaemin:_

_Fighting, Nono!_

The picture is of Jaemin in the studio. He’s sitting on the floor, taking a picture of himself in the mirror, with his arms on his knees, one hand holding his phone, and the other in his hair. He’s clearly been there for a while, given the red flush in his face, and the couple of wet strands of hair that cling to his cheeks. Jaemin smiles at the camera, and it makes Jeno’s chest hurt. He lies back on his bed and quickly pulls up his camera app. He makes a face at his appearance, but Jeno’s honestly too tired to do anything about it anyways. He quickly snaps a picture and sends it off.

_To Jaemin:_

_[pic attachment]_

_To Jaemin:_

_Fighting Nana_

_To Jaemin:_

_Hope you’re taking care of yourself_

Jeno watches as the little 1’s by his messages disappear, signaling that Jaemin looked at them. It’s difficult keeping his eyes open to wait for Jaemin’s reply, but they haven’t had a chance to talk in a while, so Jeno’s fine with giving up a little sleep. Plus, tomorrow’s Sunday. Jeno can totally sleep in tomorrow and go into the library later. 

Jeno’s eyes fly open at the sound of his phone ringing. A picture of Jaemin smiling softly, sunlight peaking through his now faded pink/peach hair flashes on his screen. Jeno swipes to answer the call before it can go to voicemail.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Nono.” Jaemin’s voice is soft and slightly tinny over the phone, but it’s still honey sweet. Hearing it makes something loosen in Jeno’s chest.

“Jaemin-ah. Hi.”

“Hi.” Jeno chuckles.

“You said that.” Jaemin giggles. “What’s up?”

“Nothing, I guess. I just—you just… The picture you sent… Are you okay?” Jeno breathes a laugh at Jaemin’s stuttering. He runs a hand through his hair, wincing when his fingers get caught in the knots. 

“I guess?” Jeno hears Jaemin scoff, can imagine the accompanying eye roll.

“You don’t sound too sure.” Jeno sighs.

“Finals time just reminds me how dumb I am.” 

“You’re not dumb, Jeno.” Jaemin is quick in his reprimand, sounding sharper than Jeno’s ever heard him before. Jeno lets out a laugh that kind of feels like a sob.

“I’m not too sure about that.” Jaemin sighs. 

“Jeno, you are one of the smartest dumb people I know.” A tear streaks hotly down Jeno’s cheek.

“Thanks I think?” Jaemin makes a frustrated noise.

“You’re being dumb by thinking you’re dumb. You’re not actually dumb.”

“I think ‘dumb’ has stopped meaning anything,” Jeno says absently, pinching the fabric of his pillow case between his fingers, rubbing it. He uses his sleeve to wipe his face.

“Jeno. You are very smart. You wouldn’t have gotten this far in college if you weren’t. Are finals hard? Yes, of course. It’s a lot of information to try to remember at one time. But you’re working hard. I know you are. Even if the pictures you’re sending me are of the Chinese assassin texting his not boyfriend or you looking adorably soft on your bed, you don’t take your phone with you to the library so you can work. You take the time to rewrite your notes after class. Hell, you go to study groups with your classmates just to review content. 

“What was it that you told me? You need to take breaks so your body can keep up with you. You need to let yourself rest because pushing yourself will do more harm than good.”

“You’re dancing; I’m just trying to remember stuff. It’s different.” Jeno mumbles. Jeno knows that what Jaemin’s saying is true, but at the same time, he feels like he should be doing more, studying more. He should be making flashcards of chemical compounds or reviewing anatomy terms or going through his literature essay one more time to make sure he has enough evidence to support his argument.

“Is it though?” Jaemin asks gently. “Your brain needs a break, too. If I remember my psych class from freshman year correctly, you need days where you’re not cramming to let your brain retain the information you’re trying to feed it.” Jeno breathes out long and slow. 

“I just want to do well,” Jeno whispers. It feels like deja vu, but their roles now reversed. 

“And you will,” Jaemin says matter of factly. “I know you, Jeno-yah. You’re going to do so well.” They lapse into silence afterwards, but just hearing Jaemin’s breathing on the other end of the line helps. 

“I miss you,” Jeno says in a moment of weakness. Jeno hears Jaemin inhale sharply. Jeno feels the heat of a blush curve its way over his cheeks.

“I miss you, too. I didn’t realize how much we talked until we didn’t anymore.” The heat spreads down to Jeno’s chest now, but for an entirely different reason. He feels himself smiling at the quiet confession. 

“I’ll start bringing my phone to the library so we can talk more,” Jeno offers. 

“You don’t have to; I know that studying is important for you.” 

“I want to, Nana,” Jeno says simply. Jaemin chuckles softly.

“Okay then,” Jaemin says quietly. “You should take tomorrow off from studying. Just like, hang around your apartment and sleep or something.” 

“I don’t think I can do that.” A frown tugs at Jeno’s mouth. Jaemin sighs, exasperated.

“Jeno, taking one day off won’t hurt anything. If anything, it’ll make you feel better, more rejuvenated to study again on Monday.”

“I don’t know…”

“Please, Jeno? At least no big study binges. Just… Stay home and relax and if you absolutely have to study, then at least only do flashcards on your couch or look over your notes in bed or something.”Jeno ruffles a hand through his hair as he thinks. Really, how much would one day off put him back? The essay isn’t due until next Tuesday. He studied chemistry until his eyes felt like bleeding today. The anatomy final is half a practical and half a written exam, but that’s not until the last day of finals.

“Okay. I’ll take tomorrow to chill.” 

“Promise?” Jeno rolls his eyes with a fond smile.

“Yeah, I promise.”

“Good.” Jeno can hear the smile in Jaemin’s voice. 

“How are things going for your finals? How’s the choreo?” Jaemin groans loudly.

“Nono, would you still love me if I was a college dropout? I swear, finals week gets worse every year I’m here.” 

“I think that’s kind of the point,” Jeno says drily, glazing over the first part of Jaemin’s answer. He really doesn’t want to deal with replying to that when Jaemin doesn’t mean it the way he wants him to.

“I know. Still sucks,” Jaemin grumbles. He sighs. “Okay, it’s honestly not going terrible. I’m just worried that my dance isn’t going to be good enough for the practical. I mean, Hyuck said that it’s good, and so did Jisungie, but Hyuckie isn’t a dancer, and I know that if Jisung were in my class, he would do a lot better.”

“You don’t know that, Nana,” Jeno reprimands lightly. “And besides, if he’s so good at dancing, then you should take his word that it’s good! Is he the kind of person to lie to save your feelings?” There’s a slight pause.

“No.”

“See? I understand why you’re worrying, and I know me telling you to stop won’t do anything, but you should be able to take some reassurance from your friends.”

“I guess. I’m just going to be glad when it’s over. Even if I fail, at least I’ll know.”

“You’re not going to fail. I know that for sure.” A yawn overtakes what Jeno was going to say next. It’s the big, jaw popping, ear muffling, full body kind of yawn that comes from being tired in more ways than one. 

“You should go to bed, Nono,” Jaemin says softly, warmly. Jeno wishes he were here next to him. 

“You should, too,” Jeno replies. Jaemin chuckles.

“Yeah, probably. Sleep well, okay? Don’t set an alarm; just sleep.”

“Yeah, yeah. You sleep well, too, Nana. Don’t push yourself too hard at the studio tomorrow.”

“I won’t. Good night, Jeno-yah.” 

“Good night, Jaemin-ah.” Jeno waits until he hears the _beep, beep, beep_ signaling that the call had been disconnected before getting up to turn out the lights in his room. He crawls under his blankets and takes the time to unlock his phone and look at the picture of Jaemin he has as his background: laughing and bright. Jeno falls asleep with Jaemin’s whispers in his ear and his smile in the forefront of his mind.

“Jeno-yah.” There’s a light brushing over his face. Fingers run through Jeno’s hair. It feels nice. Jeno leans into the touch. “Wake up, sweets.” Jeno scrunches his nose. The blankets around him are warm, and he’s still tired. It’s too early to be up. He doesn’t want to. The fingers in his hair stop. Jeno whines low in his throat. A honeyed chuckle replies. 

“Come on, Jeno.” A light touch runs down his forehead, along his eyebrow, down his nose, booping the tip softly. The touch follows along his cheek, down his jawline, and lightly traces over the cupid’s bow of his lip. “I brought food, Nono. Yummy pancakes and fruit.” Jeno groans lowly again but squints an eye open. A slightly blurry Jaemin is leaning into his space, hand still cupping Jeno’s cheek. Jeno grabs Jaemin’s arm and tugs him down next to him, pulling him until they’re sharing a pillow and Jaemin is sprawled on the bed. Jaemin laughs.

“If you wanted to get me into bed, all you had to do was ask.” Jaemin smirks. Jeno curls up to Jaemin, warm, warm, Jaemin and wraps around his arm. 

“Shh, sleep time,” Jeno mutters, eyes already closing. A hand rakes through Jeno’s hair again, and Jeno sighs contently. 

“Honey, it’s already 11:30. I think it’s time to get up.” Jeno squints an eye open, sees a blurry Jaemin looking at him with a smile. It’s been a while since Jeno has given himself the leniency to sleep in. There’s always something that needs his attention whether it be class, homework, friends, or adulting. For that reason, Jeno didn’t really expect to sleep in that long; he expected his body to be used to waking up early and just sticking with that routine.

“Impossible,” Jeno mutters before closing his eyes again and rolling away from Jaemin. He stretches, popping his back in a couple of spots, relaxes back into the bed. Jaemin latches onto his arm. He pokes Jeno’s cheek lightly.

“Looks like you needed that sleep after all, hmm?” Jeno turns his face towards Jaemin’s hand. Warm.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, you told me so.” Through sheer willpower, Jeno manages to open his eyes and keep them open. “You said you brought breakfast?” Jaemin chuckles. He sits up and runs a hand through his hair to fix the few mussed pieces from laying down with Jeno. 

“Yeah, it’s in the kitchen. I even brought you coffee.” Jeno shoves his glasses onto his face and shakes his head, hoping to get the cotton out of his brain. He roughly scrubs his hands through his hair to try and make it lay flat before standing and following Jaemin towards the kitchen. Immediately, Jaemin starts pulling out take out containers and looking for plates. When Jeno tries to help, Jaemin shoves a coffee into his hand and shoos him to the tiny table. Jeno watches Jaemin flit around the kitchen, grabbing plates and piling food high. Jaemin places a plate in front of Jeno and sits across from him with his own. Jeno stares at Jaemin as he digs into his food. 

“What? Not a fan of pancakes?” Jaemin asks, catching his stare.

“I’m still not convinced that I’m not still asleep and this is all just a dream.” 

“Do you dream of me often?” Jaemin smirks slyly. Jeno rolls his eyes.

“Walked into that one.” He takes a gulp of his coffee. Hot with milk and a little bit of sugar, just how he likes it. Jaemin laughs.

“Yeah, you sure did.” Jeno takes the chance to start eating. After the first bite, his stomach growls loudly, reminding him of just how hungry he actually is. 

“Not that I’m complaining, but why are you here? And how did you even get in my apartment?” Jaemin sighs and sets down his fork.

“You just sounded so… Sad last night. So I wanted to do something nice for you.” Jaemin’s eyes narrow. “And make sure that you were actually taking today off like you said you would. As for how I got in here, I knocked. The Chinese assassin was here. Or, that’s who I’m assuming the short, angry man who answered the door was. He was like, ‘so you’re Jaemin, huh? You hurt him and police will find your body spread across three continents but never find your head.’ Then he just left.” Yep, definitely Renjun. 

“You’re taking a murder threat pretty well.” 

“I don’t plan on hurting you, so I don’t really have to worry about it.” Jaemin takes a big bite of pancake. Jeno’s face burns bright with the ease and matter of fact air of the statement. 

“Thank you,” Jeno says quietly. Jaemin pauses, takes a second to swallow his food. 

“Do you think I’m going to hurt you, Jeno?” Jaemin’s face is serious, eyes steady.

“No, of course not.” Not purposefully, at least. “But, I meant it for more than that. Thank you for being here? Thank you for the food? Thank you for taking care of me?” Jaemin reaches out and squeezes Jeno’s hand. 

“There’s nowhere I’d rather be.”

Jaemin stays for the rest of the day. They watch bad anime on Netflix and get a noise complaint from Jeno’s neighbors for laughing too loudly. They order in chicken and beer for dinner. While Jeno doesn’t get drunk, doesn’t even really feel like he gets tipsy, he feels high off the bubbles in his stomach and the smiles Jaemin shoots him every once in a while, like they’re sharing a secret. When Jaemin finally ends up leaving, it’s with a hard hug and a request that they meet up once finals are finally done. The door closes with a soft _snick_ , and Jeno’s stuck there staring for a moment, replaying the day in his mind. It honestly feels like someone had taken control of his life and pressed the ‘pause’ button to give Jeno a reprieve. It was definitely needed. 

A loud throat clearing startles Jeno into knocking his hip against the kitchen counter. Renjun’s propped in the doorway to his bedroom, smirk firmly on his face. He had only come home an hour ago, and when he saw Jeno and Jaemin in the living room, he immediately absconded to his room with little more than a wave. 

“You two looked cozy.” Jeno shrugs uncomfortably.

“He just wanted to make sure I took today off from studying.” Renjun rolls his eyes so hard that Jeno’s worried he pulled something.

“Right, sure. That’s totally all it was. Just a bro. Helping out a bro.” No need to remind him, Renjun. Jeno is well aware that they’re just friends. No matter how much he wants to just reach out and cuddle Jaemin, pull him close and protect him from the world and his own worries, be protected in return. 

“I mean, yeah.” Renjun fixes him with a glare.

“You’re the dumbest smart person I know.” Well, that sounds familiar. Jeno’s going to develop a complex if people keep saying that.

“Thanks, I guess.”

“When are you going to ask him out? You guys are basically already dating anyways.” 

“No we’re not, and I’m not going to. He’s affectionate with all of his friends. All of the pictures he sends me of him and his roommate are with them either cuddled together or him smooshing their faces together. The freshman he adopted, he’s always pinching his cheeks and running around threatening to kiss him. He held my hand the first time we met!”

“Because he liked you, idiot.” It’s Jeno’s turn to roll his eyes.

“Sure, discount the other things I said.”

“Don’t worry; I did. He might be affectionate with his friends, but I doubt he looks at them like he looks at you.” Jeno’s hesitant to ask, doesn’t want to get his hopes up.

“How does he look at me?” Renjun’s whole demeanor softens. 

“He looks at you like he never wants to look at anything else ever again.” 

Jeno’s head is a mess for the next couple of days. He’s kept his word of taking his phone with him to the library, so that means that he’s back to talking to Jaemin most of the day. It’s still not as much as before because Jaemin is still working hard (too hard) on his dance, but it’s more than they have in the past week. While Jeno likes it, it still unsettles him. All he can think about is Renjun’s comment. Jeno tries to throw himself into his studies, but every time his phone lights up with a text notification from Jaemin, it pulls Jeno’s thoughts back down, down, down. Does Jaemin like him? Does Jeno want Jaemin to like him? Who is he kidding: Jeno likes Jaemin, has liked Jaemin, for longer than he cares to admit. Probably since at the student center. Or maybe since he grabbed his hand and ran out of the library, refused to let go until they had to. Could it be that Jaemin feels the same? It seems too good to be true that this guy who laughs with his entire being, so honest and pure, who has stars in his eyes and sunshine in his smile, who can have pink hair and not look ridiculous, would even spare Jeno a second glance. Jeno is just Jeno: a try hard pre-med student who watches way too much anime, can quote way too many vines, and tells the worst dad jokes. 

His phone vibrates loudly against the wooden table of the library, startling him from his thoughts. He quickly snatches his phone up. 

_From Jaemin:_

_[Pic attached]_

_Just found out my slot for my practical._

_From Jaemin:_

_It’s in three days!_

_From Jaemin:_

_[Pic attached]_

Jeno smiles as he looks at the pictures. The first one shows Jaemin pouting something fierce in the harsh light of the hallways outside of the dance studio, and the second one must have been taken by someone else because it’s Jaemin laying the in the middle of the dance studio, rag dolled, looking miserable. 

_To Jaemin:_

_You’re going to be okay Nana._

_To Jaemin:_

_Besides, isn’t it better to know when it’s coming?_

_To Jaemin:_

_Now the end is in sight!_

_From Jaemin:_

_I guess…_

_From Jaemin:_

_You’ll come comfort me if I fail, right?_

_To Jaemin:_

_You’re not going to fail._

_From Jaemin:_

_I might!_

_To Jaemin:_

_What time is it on Monday?_

_From Jaemin:_

_3:20_

_To Jaemin:_

_I’ll make sure my schedule’s free on the very unlikely, basically impossible, totally not going to happen reason that you’re going to fail._

_From Jaemin:_

_[Pic attached]_

The picture is of Jaemin standing with his arms in the shape of a heart on his head, blowing him a kiss, with multiple heart stickers surrounding him. Jeno breathes deeply as his heart gives an uncomfortable lurch. He puts his phone down and buries his head in his arms, trying to calm down the fast beating. Jeno grabs his phone again, looking up at it so he doesn’t have to lift his head. He’s so tired.

_To Injunnie:_

_On a scale of one to ten, how sure are you that Jaemin actually likes me in a ‘I wanna date you’ way and not a ‘wow, you’re a super chill bro’ way?_

_From Injunnie:_

_95_

_To Injunnie:_

_nsuefhwenkjalfhu YOU MET HIM ONCE_

_From Injunnie:_

_You guys are basically dating already. You text ALL the time. You take turns treating each other to food. You’ve been complaining about how much time he spends at the studio, but then he literally took an entire day off to baby you when you were struggling from studying._

_To Injunnie:_

_…_

_To Injunnie:_

_Are you sure?_

_From Injunnie:_

_Just talk to him. If he likes you, then great you got yourself a boyfriend. If he doesn’t, I’m not gonna lie, it’ll suck, but with the way he talks to you and acts around you, it sounds like you wouldn’t lose him as a friend even if he doesn’t feel the same way. What do you have to lose?_

_To Injunnie:_

_My dignity?_

_From Injunnie:_

_Funny you think you still have that after all the frat parties you went to freshman year._

_To Injunnie:_

_WE SAID WE WOULDN’T TALK ABOUT THAT EVER AGAIN_

_From Injunnie:_

_I said no such thing_

_To Injunnie:_

_Should I really be taking love advice from you when you still haven’t talked to Yukhei yet? It’s been over a year_

_From Injunnie:_

_Why are you the worst?_

_To Injunnie:_

_Maybe you should take your own advice._

_From Injunnie:_

_I’ll have you know that I already did._

_To Injunnie:_

_???? WHhAat???? WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN???_

_From Injunnie:_

_Maybe I’ll tell you after you talk to Jaemin._

_To Injunnie:_

_Junnniiiieeeeee, whyyyy?????_

_From Injunnie:_

_Because you’re being a whiny bitch baby about the situation and you need to stop._

_To Injunnie:_

_… Fair._

_To Injunnie:_

_Can you at least tell me if it worked out?_

_From Injunnie:_

_:)_

Jeno takes a deep breath of relief. While he wants to know all the specifics of what happened, Jeno’s happy knowing that Renjun isn’t heartbroken. While Renjun puts on this tough, serial killer-esque facade, he’s probably one of the most sensitive people Jeno knows. He knows that if Yukhei rejected him, even if it was nicely, Renjun would’ve felt that for a long time. 

Jeno rereads his conversation with Renjun then flips over to his conversation with Jaemin, looking through the hundreds and hundreds (if not thousands at this point) of messages. He flicks through the gallery of selfies and other pictures they’ve sent to each other. Jeno sighs. 

He is tired. Jeno’s tired of being so close to Jaemin but not in the way he wants. He’s tired of always second guessing everything: Jaemin’s touches, how Jaemin will react to the message he sent, should he actually say this or will that scare Jaemin away. It’s exhausting. 

Jeno nods to himself, firm in his decision. He’ll wait until after Jaemin’s practical, so if he doesn’t feel the same, he won’t be distracted beating himself up because Jeno knows Jaemin at this point, so, so well. Jaemin would feel guilty about not returning his feelings, about hurting Jeno even if it isn’t his fault. Jeno doesn’t want to do that to Jaemin, but Jeno’s gotten to the point that he can’t keep this to himself.

Jeno sends a picture back to Jaemin, smiling so widely his eyes scrunch with a finger heart and a ‘Fighting!’ sticker in the corner. 

Jeno makes it a point to drag Jaemin out of the studio for an hour on Saturday. He knows that Jaemin will spend most of Sunday and Monday panicking until it’s his turn to perform, but Jeno thinks that absconding him on Sunday would make his nerves worse rather than better, so on Saturday, Jeno swings by the studio that he’s come to think of as Jaemin’s and packs him up a frazzled and distressed looking Jaemin despite Jaemin’s complaints. Jeno takes him to a cute little cafe just off campus with good coffee and cakes that are sweet enough to make you forget your problems. By the time Jeno walks Jaemin back to the studio, Jaemin has a skip in his step, and he’s laughing like he means it. He leaves Jeno in the hallway with a tight hug and a kiss to his temple. Jeno’s cheeks burn bright the entire way home. He feels like he’s counting the hours until Jaemin’s practical, too.

Jeno shows up at the Kim Suwon building, 2nd floor auditorium at 3:22pm on Monday. Earlier this morning, he had woken up to a text, a sleepy faced Jaemin with a raised fist and a succinct ‘Fighting!’ caption. Jeno made sure to send a quick text back returning the sentiment before hurrying off to his chemistry final. After that, he had to race to the other end of the science building to hand in his anatomy essay. Jeno then took the opportunity to dawdled around campus for the hour until Jaemin’s practical. 

Jeno worries the hangnail on his thumb with his teeth as he waits. He hears the swell of the music in the auditorium, knows that just beyond the door, Jaemin’s in there dancing his heart out. Jeno wishes that he could sneak in to catch a glimpse. He’s sure that with Jaemin’s strong, lean limbs and graceful tendencies that he would be absolutely amazing to watch, but he doesn’t want to risk distracting Jaemin, or God forbid, piss off his professor into failing him.

So Jeno stands there. He’s sure to anyone other than a fellow college student, he looks very odd with his sweatpants and hoodie combo, baseball cap, and glasses, gnawing on his own thumb. However, most of the other students glance right past him, chalking it up to final’s stress. Jeno wishes it was just final’s stress.

The auditorium door bursts open. Pain stings sharp as Jeno accidentally rips the skin from his thumb. Jaemin walks through the door, bag over his shoulder, looking down at the phone in his hand.

“Jaemin-ah!” Jeno croaks, throat dry from not talking or nerves or some combination of the two. Jaemin looks up, surprise clear on his face, before it smoothes into a wide smile. Jaemin tucks the phone into his back pocket before running to Jeno. He launches himself into Jeno’s arms, legs wrapping around Jeno’s waist. Reflexively, Jeno grabs Jaemin’s thighs to steady him, pulling him closer.

“I did it, Nono. I did it! I passed!” Jeno hides his sigh of relief but wraps his arms around Jaemin until he’s pressed flush against his chest. Jeno swears he can feel Jaemin’s heart racing, but then again, he might just be projecting since his own is about to burst from his chest.

“That’s so great, Jaemin-ah. I’m so proud of you!” Jeno says. “Does this mean I get to say I told you so?” Jeno can feel Jaemin’s laughter before he hears it. 

“Sure, whatever, I don’t even care!” Jaemin leans back in Jeno’s arms but doesn’t get down. With Jaemin wrapped around him like this, he’s a few inches taller than Jeno. He looks down at him with a bright smile and red cheeks and stars in his eyes. 

“Jaemin, are we dating?” The questions bursts from Jeno before he can stop it. It’s been on the tip of his tongue whenever he sees him, fingers primed to ask whenever they talk, since he talked to Renjun last week. He knew that he had to wait until after Jaemin’s practical, but he could kick himself for not being able to wait a second longer. Jeno tenses as he waits for Jaemin to slide from his arms, for his smile to dim. Jaemin, however, runs a hand gently through the hair at the nape of his neck, and if anything, Jaemin’s smile brightens even further. 

“We have been for almost two months now. Thanks for finally noticing.” Jeno freezes. His brain seems to somehow stall and race at the same time. He just… What? Jaemin’s hand continues to run through Jeno’s hair, rubbing over his neck in circles as Jeno takes the time to process. Eventually, Jeno just kind of accepts it. It might not have been the response he was expecting, but did it really matter? If Jaemin’s saying they’ve been dating for two months, accepts it as easy as breathing, then obviously Jaemin likes him back, and that’s all Jeno really wanted to know. Jeno lets out a breath.

“Oh. Okay. Does that mean I can kiss you?” The hand in his hair tightens, pulling slightly. The pinpricks of pain send a jolt down Jeno’s spine.

“Please,” Jaemin mutters, already leaning in. Their lips meet in a soft, sweet press. It’s not fireworks or an explosion, but it’s familiar in a way that he feels in his soul, which makes it so much better. Jaemin shifts in his arms, pulling tighter with his legs, and Jeno captures Jaemin’s bottom lip between his own, tugging lightly. When they pull away, Jaemin rests his forehead against Jeno’s. 

“I’m never not going to be mad at the fact that we could’ve been doing that for two months now,” Jeno says absently. His thumb rubs circles on the thin strip of skin showing on Jaemin’s lower back from where his sweatshirt rode up. Jaemin thumps his shoulder softly before winding his arm back around Jeno’s neck. 

“You’re the one who didn’t notice we were already dating.”

“I thought you were just really affectionate with everyone!” Jaemin leans back, looking at Jeno with a deadpan stare.

“I literally berated you into texting me.” 

“I thought you wanted someone to share your trauma with.”

“I text you all day, every day.”

“Some friends do that, too.”

“I jumped onto your back in the middle of the quad and took you out to dinner.”

“Friends stuff?”

“I send you selfies because I missed seeing your face. I called you when you were looking sad because I wanted to make sure you were okay. I took a day off of practicing for a practical exam that I was shitting bricks over because you were having a rough time, and I wanted to help. I braved the Chinese assassin for you!” Jeno chuckles at Jaemin’s playfully enraged face. He presses a light kiss to Jaemin’s lips before gently letting Jaemin drop down to the floor.

“Okay, when you put it like that, I’m the most oblivious idiot that ever idioted.” Jaemin tiptoes to kiss Jeno’s lips once, twice, then kiss both of his cheeks and forehead. Jeno’s cheeks warm at the blatant affection. 

“Not an idiot; just oblivious.” Jaemin twines their hands before swooping up his bag and pulling him towards the stairwell. Jeno follows the pull helplessly staring at Jaemin’s back. He’s in a state of disbelief still. Jeno never though that he would actually get to the point of being able to hold Jaemin’s hand when he wanted, kiss him when he felt like, for Jaemin to return his feelings. 

Jaemin leads them downstairs and outside. He shivers as soon as the cold air hits his skin, so Jeno takes the opportunity to tuck Jaemin under his arm, bringing him close so they can use each other for warmth. Jaemin looks at Jeno, smiling softly but brightly. He presses a firm kiss to the corner of Jeno’s mouth and urges them forward by looping his arm around Jeno’s waist and pulling. 

“Where are we going?” Jaemin seems to have a destination in mind, and who is Jeno to argue?

“Well, I found out that I passed the practical that I’ve been worrying about for a month, and I got a smoking hot and strong, did I tell you that the strong thing is hot? The strong thing is _so_ hot. Where was I? Oh! I finally locked down my super hot, kind, funny, and sweet boyfriend, so we’re going to go celebrate!” Jeno’s face flushes at Jaemin’s compliments and for being called out. Again. Jeno nudges Jaemin with his hip.

“You could’ve talked to me, too, you know?” At that, a shy, vulnerable look takes over Jaemin’s face.

“I know, I just. I thought I was being super obvious, so when you didn’t say anything or do anything, I just kinda thought you weren’t interested like that? Like, you were cool with all the skinship and talking all the time, but you didn’t want to like actually date me or anything? So I just kinda figured I would leave it be until if/when you said anything.” Jeno kisses Jaemin’s temple, revels in the easy feeling of being able to do that now. Jaemin smiles at Jeno through his lashes.

“Are you getting shy on me now?” Jeno whispers teasingly. “All is takes is a few kisses?” Jaemin shoves Jeno with both hands, making Jeno laugh as Jaemin struggles against him. Jeno holds on tighter until Jaemin gives up, crossing his arms and pouting. 

“You’re not nice, Lee Jeno.” Jeno chuckles lowly in Jaemin’s ear. His confidence surges as Jaemin turns bright pink, squirming slightly. 

“I’m plenty nice, Na Jaemin,” Jeno mutters. He kisses Jaemin’s cheek, behind Jaemin’s ear, once, twice, three times down Jaemin’s neck. Suddenly, Jaemin whirls around, shoving Jeno back into the wall of the social studies building they were passing. He cages Jeno in with his arms pressed on either side of Jeno’s face. 

“If you keep this up, we’re not going to make it to our date.” Jaemin’s close enough that Jeno can feel his breath on his face; he can see the way that Jaemin’s eyes are a little darker than normal.

“I didn’t realize we were going on a date,” Jeno says, getting distracted by Jaemin’s lips. Jeno bites his bottom lip to stop himself from kissing Jaemin as much as he wants to make up for lost time. His eyes flicker up to Jaemin’s to see that Jaemin is staring at his mouth.

“Too bad for you, I don’t put out on the first date,” Jaemin says, swaying further into Jeno’s space. Jeno laughs.

“Good thing you said we’ve been dating for two months then, huh?” Jaemin presses into Jeno before he can say anything else, kissing him fiercely. Their kiss has lost the innocence of their first with Jaemin immediately licking into Jeno’s mouth. Jeno wraps an arm around Jaemin’s waist and tangles his free hand in his hair, holding him close, tilting his head just a bit more. Jaemin’s tongue brushes along his own, running along the palette of Jeno’s mouth before he’s pulling back and biting Jeno’s lower lip roughly. The breath punches out of Jeno. Jaemin looks like a goddamn vision with swollen, red lips, messy hair, and eyes pitched black. 

“As much as I want to continue this,” Jaemin pants. He presses another filthy kiss to Jeno’s mouth. Jeno holds on for dear life, letting Jaemin take what he wants. “I am also hungry. Let’s go eat.” And with that, Jaemin disengages from Jeno and flounces away, leaving Jeno panting and trying to collect himself. He ends up having to run after Jaemin to catch up, feels like he’s always running after Jaemin, but the smile he gets when he finally manages to grab his hand makes it worth it. 

Jaemin takes him to the bibimbap shop where the had first gotten dinner together. They sit across from eat other, giggling quietly as they talk, hands linked on top of the table while they wait for their food, feet entwined under the table. Jaemin tells Jeno all about how his practical went.

“Okay, so I don’t know for sure that I passed, _but_ he smiled and nodded at me on my way out. That’s as good as a pass, right?” Jeno’s quick to reassure him that yes, it’s definitely a pass. 

Jaemin asks Jeno about how his finals are going and listens earnestly when Jeno complains about the tests and the studying and his decision to try to be a doctor. Jaemin squeezes his hand, rubs small circles over his knuckles as he reassures him that he’ll be okay. 

Jeno insists on walking Jaemin back to his apartment after they’re done. 

“You walked me home after our first date, it’s about time that I repaid the favor.”

“You’re such a sap,” Jaemin says, smiling sunnily. They take a meandering path. Their hands swing freely between them, Jaemin’s hand warm in his. When they finally get to Jaemin’s building, Jeno walks him all the way to the door.

“Mmm, didn’t know my boyfriend was such a gentleman,” Jaemin coos teasingly. Jeno’s cheeks flush at the title, but doesn’t argue; why would he? Jeno presses his back gently against the door to his apartment and takes his time kissing Jaemin thoroughly. There’s no fierce desire underlying the kiss, just Jeno trying to show Jaemin how much he likes him, cares for him. When Jeno pulls away, Jaemin keeps him close as the catch their breath. 

“When finals are over, I’m taking you on a date. A real date.” Jaemin smiles and kisses Jeno’s cheek.

“Well, I’m not going to say no to that.” When Jeno finally manages to pull away, he waits until Jaemin slips into his apartment to finally leave. 

“DID HE FINALLY PULL HIS HEAD OUT OF HIS ASS!?” Jeno jumps at the loud shout from Jaemin’s apartment. “‘CAUSE GIRL, YOU LOOKED LIKE YOU GOT DICKED DOWN _GOOD_!” Jeno’s cheeks burn as he scurries home.

_To Jaemin:_

_So. Uh. Donghyuck was home I guess?_

_From Jaemin:_

_Oh my god._

_From Jaemin:_

_OH MY GOD YOU HEARD THAT?_

_From Jaemin:_

_I’M SO SORRY!_

_To Jaemin:_

_If that’s what you look like after kissing, just wait until he sees you after you actually get “dicked down good” ;)_

_From Jaemin:_

_iofhadsnjkwlefn_

_From Jaemin:_

_WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH LEE JENO?_

_To Jaemin:_

_Never took you as being a panic gay_

_From Jaemin:_

_Bisexual, actually. And we’re renowned for our panic in the face of people actually liking us._

_To Jaemin:_

_Don’t worry baby; no panic necessary. I’ll take good care of you ;)_

_From Jaemin:_

_NFJK;NF JENO!_

Finals pass in a whirlwind of too much coffee, not enough sleep, and way too many eraser shavings. Throughout the week, Jaemin and Jeno haven’t had time to meet up again, but now they have a nightly FaceTime call so they can at least see each other.

“I take it back, you’re worse now.” Renjun looks at Jeno in disgust as he slurps his ramyeon. Jeno tucks his phone away and turns back to his own food. 

“I thought you’d be proud of me for finally talking to him.” 

“‘Are we dating?’ Super smooth, hot shot.” Jeno blushes even as he rolls his eyes. It might not have been the smoothest delivery or the most romantic thing ever, but he got a boyfriend out of it in the end.

“You never told me how you and Yukhei got together. You said you would tell me if I told Jaemin. Pay up, bitch.” Renjun pokes at his noodles with his chopsticks, hair hiding some of his face, but Jeno can see the bright pink flushing down his cheeks and neck.

“We were just hanging out like normal, right? And we’ve been doing this whole like back and forth thing for a while now of him acting like he likes me and then pulling away and being kinda distant, and this would happen like three or four times during the two hours of us hanging out! So I was getting really pissed off because if you like me, just say it, you know?” Jeno eats his noodles, watching as Renjun gets more animated, gesticulating wildly. It’s always fun to watch Renjun get truly passionate about something because he seems all calm and collected on the surface, but if someone says something that sets him off. Man, does he go off.

“So, we were cycling back around to him acting like he likes me again. We were watching a movie, and he went from sitting on one side of the futon and me on the other to him scooting close to me and putting an arm around my shoulders. So I look up at him—shut up, Jeno, I’m not that short; he’s just a giant. So I look up at him, and he looks down at me, and I just.” Renjun covers his face with both of his hands, squirming in his seat. Jeno raises both eyebrows at the reaction.

“Oh, God, what did you do?” Renjun peeks over his hands with a glare.

“Nothing bad, you pervert. I just. I was like. I said, ‘so are you gonna kiss me or what?’” Jeno’s mouth drops. He takes a moment to gather his thoughts before hooting loudly.

“And you come after me about how bad I was with Jaemin?” Renjun throws a pillow at Jeno that catches him solidly in the face. It doesn’t stop Jeno from laughing. 

“Yah! I definitely wasn’t as bad as you.”

“But this was the culmination of almost a year’s worth of pining. Mine was only a couple of months!”

“So, you admit you were pining since you met him.”

“Bitch, we been knew. You’re the one who didn’t admit they liked Yukhei until you could use it to get me to confess to Jaemin.” 

“That’s just because I’m smart. I know when to play my cards instead of leaving them on the table like you.” 

“Sounds like an excuse to me, but whatever.” 

“By the way, why does Jaemin call me the Chinese assassin?” That grabs Jeno’s attention.

“What do you mean?”

“I saw him on campus coming back from my psychology final, and he came over to say hi. He was like, ‘Hey, Chinese assassin!’ What’s up with that?” Goddamn it, Jaemin.

“Oh, shit, I forgot that I need to study for my final tomorrow. Thanks for the ramyeon. Bye!” Jeno scrambles off to his room with Renjun shouting, right on his heels.

Jeno’s palms sweat as he knocks on the door. There’s literally no reason for him to be nervous right now; as it’s been pointed out to him by multiple people, it’s not like it’s their first date. Jeno runs a hand through the front of his hair, hoping that it’s still laying how Renjun styled it (not only did he do a really good job, but Renjun would kill him if he already messed it up).

The door opens, and Jeno’s breath gets caught in his chest. Jaemin’s wearing tight skinny jeans, a plain black shirt, and a floral bomber jacket. His hair’s pushed back, and it looks like he’s wearing a bit of eyeliner. He looks like a goddamn _vision_. Jaemin smiles at Jeno shyly, and Jeno smiles back. Then Jaemin’s stumbling forward, directly into Jeno’s chest.

“If you guys are just gonna stand there and stare at each other, it’s no fucking wonder it took you so long to date.” Jeno shifts Jaemin until he’s stand with Jeno’s arm around his waist.Donghyuck rolls his eyes. “Yes, yes, yes, you’re both cute and adorable together, blah, blah, blah. Hi Jeno, nice to meet you. You hurt him, I’ll break your kneecaps. Also, take him back to yours tonight; Marks coming over. Love you, bitch!” The door slams closed, and Jeno hears the lock slide into place.

“Well, he’s a ball of sunshine.” Jeno says absently, rubbing his hand up and down Jaemin’s side. Jaemin sighs over dramatically and slumps onto Jeno’s shoulder.

“He’s a total ass. But I love him.” Jeno looks at Jaemin only to find Jaemin already staring back at him. Jeno kisses him softly.

“Hi,” he whispers. “I missed you.” Jaemin cups Jeno’s cheek, brushes his thumb across his cheekbone.

“I missed you, too.” They kiss again, slowly, softly, saying hello and I miss you and getting reacquainted once more. 

“Come on,” Jeno murmurs against Jaemin’s lips. “I have a fun surprise for you.” Jaemin reels back with an over-the-top gasp, hand on his chest like he’s a flabbergasted maiden. 

“Lee Jeno, are you propositioning me?” Jeno chuckles and rolls his eyes. He grabs Jaemin’s hand and starts leading him down the stairs.

“If you’re a good boy, maybe later.” A tug on his hand has him turning around. Jaemin pushes him against the wall in the stairwell. 

“And what if I’m a bad boy?” Jaemin asks, voice raspy and low in a way that makes Jeno throb. He studies Jaemin for a minute.

“Bad boys get punished, Nana.” He feels a shudder run through Jaemin. “So, are you a good boy or a bad boy, baby?” Jaemin looks up at Jeno with a smirk.

“Guess you’re gonna have to find out.” Jaemin flounces down the stairs like nothing happened while Jeno takes a minute to breathe through the arousal that just shot through him. When he’s finally under control, he jogs after Jaemin, catching up to him as he’s leaving the apartment building. Jeno grabs his hand and threads their fingers together.

“You gotta stop doing that,” Jeno grumbles. Jaemin smiles, side eyeing him.

“Make me.” Jeno tightens his grip on Jaemin’s hand unconsciously. He feels the shake of Jaemin’s shoulders rather than hearing the chuckle. Jeno tugs Jaemin around, threading his fingers into the hair at the nape of Jaemin’s neck, pulling him close. 

“You’re gonna regret saying that,” Jeno says lowly. He presses a light kiss to Jaemin’s forehead, then his lips. Jeno takes Jaemin’s hand again and pulls him along. He takes a moment to glance back at him and sees Jaemin looking pink in the cheeks and dazed eyes. Jeno smirks to himself and continues to lead Jaemin to their date.

The outside of the cafe is cutesy yet unassuming. Jaemin raises his eyebrows at Jeno when they stop in front of it. 

“You realize there are closer cafes to campus, right?” Jeno rolls his eyes fondly and drags Jaemin in. Jeno stops right inside the door to let Jaemin take it all in. The interior is color pale blue and white, giving the whole place a really calming look. There are dark oak with black cushioned booths and tables shoved along the perimeter of the cafe, leaving a large space in the middle open. In that open space, there are four dogs chewing on various toys.

“Lee Jeno. Did you take me to a dog cafe?” Jaemin’s grip on Jeno’s hand is tight, and there is a smile spreading across his face. Jeno kisses the side of Jaemin’s head.

“What would you like to drink? I’ll get it so you can go meet them.” Jaemin whirls around and kisses Jeno squarely on the lips, uncaring of the other people in the cafe looking. Jaemin stares at him for a beat, eyes warm and bright. Jeno should feel uncomfortable with the prolonged eye contact, but he meets Jaemin’s gaze steadily. Jaemin must find what he’s looking for because he smiles at Jeno softly and presses another kiss to Jeno’s lips gently. 

“Iced Americano. Thank you.” The way he says thank you speaks to more than just for the drink, but Jeno’s not sure what else, so he just nods and goes to the bar to order. As he waits for the drinks, he watches Jaemin wander around the dogs, letting each of them smell his hand, before he plops down in the middle of all of them. He lets them go about what they were doing before slowly trying to engage with them by grabbing a toy and shaking it. Jeno’s heart warms at the sight of Jaemin playing with the puppies, looking so full of childish joy and happiness. It’s refreshing to see him like that after being so bogged down with his finals. 

Jeno grabs their drinks and sets them on the closest table to Jaemin. He pauses a moment to take a picture of Jaemin, surrounded by dogs, laughing as one accidentally lets go of the toy it was pulling on, making it fall over. It’s not perfect, it’s crooked and slightly too bright, but Jeno makes it his phone background anyway. When he looks up, Jaemin’s looking at him with a knowing smile. Jeno shrugs, unbothered. Jaemin’s pretty. Jaemin surrounded by dogs is the cutest thing he’s seen all week. So what if he wants to keep that? Jaemin makes grabby hands at Jeno until he finally makes his way over to sit next to Jaemin. The dogs skitter back a little, but once Jeno’s settled, they creep back over. 

“So, this one is definitely the Chinese assassin,” Jaemin says, placing a small King Charles into Jeno’s lap. “He looks all cute an unassuming, but this one, who I’ve been referring to as Hyuck, tried to take his toy, and the Chinese assassin shut that down with nothing but a look. I’ve named this one Hyuck because he’s an attention hog.” The dachshund in Jaemin’s lap wriggles all over the place as Jaemin scratches him. 

“Well then, this one has to be you.” Jeno points at the papillon that won’t leave the corgi alone. It keeps poking the corgi with its nose, and when it doesn’t get the reaction it wanted, it starts pawing at the corgi until the corgi turns to paw at it back. The papillon must take that as permission because it then flops over the corgi, using it as a cushion. 

“Only if the corgi is you,” Jaemin says back cheekily. 

“You’re so cheesy,” Jeno says with a roll of his eyes. 

“All for you, sweets,” Jaemin coos. “Why don’t you go play with doggy Jaemin and Jeno. I’m sure they’ll love you.” And really, how could Jeno say no to a face like that?

They end up staying at the cafe for two hours, mainly playing with the dogs, and drinking their watery coffee when they finally remember it. As they walk back to campus from the subway station, Jaemin pulls Jeno close, grabbing Jeno’s arm tightly to his chest. 

“Best not-first date ever.” Jeno feels his ears turn red at the compliment but smiles anyways. 

“Is it over already?” Jeno hopes not. He wants to spend more time with Jaemin. Always wants to spend more time with Jaemin, whether it’s them going out for a late dinner or just watching a movie at one of their places. Besides, they have to make up for lost time from not being able to see each other over the past week. 

“Well, I don’t know. Was I a good boy?” Jaemin asks lowly, fluttering his lashes at Jeno. A breath catches in Jeno’s throat. 

“That’s not what I. We don’t have. Jaemin, I like you a lot. Like a lot, a lot. We don’t have to do this tonight if you don’t want to. As much as we’ve been joking about dating for a few months already, this is only our first date, and I don’t want to pressure you into doing anything you don’t wanna.” Jaemin’s sultry look turns into something softer. He takes both of Jeno’s hands in his and kisses his knuckles. 

“You’re too sweet, Jeno. But I like you too. A lot. Maybe more than like at this point. But I don’t feel any pressure to do anything with you. You make me feel safe and cared for. If you want to do this, I do too. If you don’t, then let’s go to your apartment and watch anime.” Jeno warms at Jaemin’s words. Normally, it’s awkward talking through this kind of thing. If two people aren’t on the same page, one could feel more vulnerable asking for what they want or feel almost rejected if what they want isn’t the same as what the other wants. Jeno’s happy that both he and Jaemin are comfortable enough with each other that they don’t have to do the awkward dance around each other.

“Well,” Jeno draws out, “I did say you would get rewarded if you were a good boy. I wouldn’t want to be a liar now, would I?” Jeno grins at the way Jaemin’s eyes darken. 

“Wouldn’t want that at all,” Jaemin says lowly, now blatantly staring at Jeno’s lips. Jeno presses closer to Jaemin until their chests are pressed together and they’re sharing the same air.

“Let me take you home,” Jeno whispers, giving Jaemin one last out if he needs it. Jaemin presses their lips together, kissing Jeno slowly and filthily, tongue prying into Jeno’s mouth immediately, fists clenching in Jeno’s shirt to keep him close. 

“Take me home, sweets,” Jaemin says against Jeno’s lips when they break apart. 

It takes all of Jeno’s self control to not sprint back to his apartment, but in a weird way, he likes the tension. He likes pushing Jaemin’s buttons at every crosswalk, every stop, every turn. He likes hearing Jaemin’s breath catch when he takes a moment to grip a little tighter at Jaemin’s waist, likes feeling his shuddery breath when Jeno presses kisses against his neck as they wait for the crosswalk like to turn green. It’s probably a little too much for Jeno to be doing in public, but it’s nearly 8pm on the Saturday after finals; more people are worried about getting wasted and forgetting about tests rather than the two boys who are trying to hard to share the same space as they walk home. 

It’s Jaemin who breaks first. As soon as they get to Jeno’s apartment building, Jaemin pries Jeno’s arm from his waist and races up the steps. Jeno watches him go, takes his time following Jaemin even though he wants to chase after him. Every step closer sends a tingle down Jeno’s spine. He takes his time on the stairs, knowing that if he’s feeling like this the Jaemin, who seems to be the more sensitive one out of the two of them, must be feeling it even worse. Jeno smiles at the thought, imaging what Jaemin will look like when he finally gets him in his bed. Jeno has to adjust his pants a little before he turns into the hallway where his apartment is. Jeno almost runs when he sees what awaits him.

Jaemin leans against the door, head thrown back, eyes scrunched closed as he palms himself in the middle of the hallway for anyone to see. Jeno breathes through the hot course of _want_ and casually, as casually as he can manage, walks over to Jaemin. He stops when there’s still a good amount of distance between them. Jeno watches Jaemin’s hands roam over himself, hears the way he harshly breathes, revels in the high pitched keens Jaemin lets out when he presses a little firmer. 

“Jeno, don’t just stand there,” Jaemin whines. Jeno takes another moment to look at him. Jaemin’s eyes are now open, dark, dark, darkly looking Jeno up and down. He pouts when Jeno doesn’t immediately move towards him. Jeno finally walks over, grabbing Jaemin’s hand, pulling it away from himself. 

“Be good, baby.” Jeno’s voice comes out deeper than expected, but it’s been awhile since he’s been this turned on. 

“Taking too long,” Jaemin pouts. In one swift motion, Jeno has Jaemin pinned to the door, both hands above his head and a thigh between his legs. Jaemin moans low in his throat and takes the opportunity to grind down on Jeno’s thigh. Jeno feels how hard Jaemin is with each swivel of his hips. It’s a heady experience. Jeno leans into Jaemin, pinning him more firmly against the door until he can’t move.

“I said _be good_.” Jeno punctuates his words with a sharp nip to Jaemin’s neck, immediately soothing it with his lips and tongue. He feels more than hears Jaemin’s hitched breath. “You like it when I’m a little rough? Want me to make it hurt a little?” 

“Mark me up. Want you to. Wanna feel this for days,” Jaemin keens in the back of his throat. Jeno takes a deep breath as arousal shoot down him, directly into his cock. Jeno pulls off of Jaemin, pulling him by the wrist to come off the door. It’s through pure luck that Jeno manages to unlock the apartment door in one try without dropping his keys with the way Jaemin plasters himself to Jeno’s back. Jeno drags him into the apartment by his wrist, both of them stumbling slightly as they try to kick off their shoes as fast as possible. Jeno goes to grab Jaemin to pull him towards his room, but Jaemin must’ve decided that he’d rather be carried instead because he jumps into Jeno’s arms just like he did after his practical. Jeno grabs Jaemin’s ass to keep him steady.

“Ugh, I love how strong you are,” Jaemin says, burying his face in Jeno’s neck. Wet kisses press their way down to his adam’s apple. Jeno squeezes Jaemin closer when he nips a mark on his neck. 

“Bedroom. Now,” Jeno mutters to himself, already walking down the hallway. He almost stumbles into a wall when Jaemin starts to use his teeth more liberally. Jeno’s neck is going to be a kaleidoscope of colors tomorrow. He can’t bring himself to care. The door to his room is closed, which makes Jeno pause. He never closes his door. Jeno shifts Jaemin to be able to support him with one arm, making both of them gasp as their hardened cocks press against each other. There’s a piece of paper taped to Jeno’s door. Frowning, Jeno rips it off, but stops before crumpling it when he sees his name written on the front in Renjun’s handwriting.

_You’re lucky I’m nice._

_Try not to get a noise complaint._

_I’ll be back from Yukhei’s tomorrow morning,_

_making sure I don’t see anything I don’t wanna see._

_(AKA WEAR CLOTHES)_

“What’s that?” Jaemin asks, finally emerging from Jeno’s neck when he didn’t immediately move into the bedroom.

“A note from Renjun,” Jeno replies bemused. Sure, it was nice of him to leave the apartment, but it wouldn’t have been the first time either of them had sex while the other was still in the apartment.

“Renjun… Chinese assassin?” Jaemin slides down from his perch to open the door to Jeno’s room. Jeno hums affirmatively, following closely behind Jaemin, ready to push him into the bed when a bag sitting in the middle of the bed catches his attention. Cautiously, Jeno walks over to the back and peers inside, immediately rolling his eyes after seeing the big post-it on top.

“‘Safe sex is the best sex’? Well, you’re not wrong,” Jaemin says while grabbing the bag and dumping out the contents. A giant bottle of lube and way too many condoms pour onto the bed. Well, at least Jeno now knows what Renjun was patting himself on the back for. 

“Are you sure you still want to? We can go order dinner and watch a movie or something,” Jeno offers, grabbing the lube and a handful of condoms and putting them on his nightstand. He shoves the rest of the condoms off his bed and onto the floor. He’ll pick them up later. Probably. He turns to look at Jaemin when a harsh push catches him off card. Jeno lands on the bed with a bounce, and immediately, Jaemin crawls into his lap, straddling Jeno’s hips.

“Yes, Jeno, I still want this.” Jaemin grabs one of Jeno’s hands, kisses his knuckles. “I’ve been fantasizing about these fingers in me for way too long to wait anymore.” Jeno’s cock, which had softened slightly with the Renjun shenanigans, stiffens again at that. Jaemin stares Jeno in the eye as he takes two of Jeno’s fingers into his mouth, licking up them and between them, sucking softly. Jeno burns. He grips Jaemin’s hips with his free hand, pressing harshly into the soft skin under his fingers. Jeno feels Jaemin’s moan around his fingers, and it sends a shiver through him.

Jeno pulls his fingers from Jaemin’s mouth, loving how wrecked Jaemin’s lips look. 

“Fuck, you’re so pretty,” Jeno says as he pulls Jaemin into a kiss. Immediately, Jeno licks into Jaemin’s mouth. He kisses Jaemin as deeply as he can, trying to show him just how much he wants Jaemin too. Hands pluck at the bottom of Jeno’s shirt, and then Jaemin’s pulling away to pull Jeno’s shirt off. Jaemin leans back in for another kiss as soon as he throws the shirt behind him. Jaemin’s hands skate along Jeno’s chest, leaving goosebumps in his wake. Jeno pushes at Jaemin’s jacket until Jaemin whips it off with a growl. Jeno sneaks his hands up Jaemin’s shirt, pressing his fingers firmly into the heat. 

“Off, off, off,” Jaemin mutters as he breaks the kiss to reach down and pull off his own shirt. The feeling of Jaemin’s bare chest against his own is heady. Jeno wraps his arms around Jaemin, pulling him close, leaning back and turning so Jaemin hits the bed with Jeno over him. Jaemin giggles, flutters his eyelashes at Jeno. 

“Oooh, look who has smooth moves.” Jeno rolls his eyes before pressing kisses down Jaemin’s neck. He worries the skin of Jaemin’s collarbone with his teeth, pulling broken sighs from Jaemin. Jeno sits back to appreciate his work. Jaemin looks beautiful laid out in his bed, hair mussed, lips bitten red, eyes half lidded and dark. Jeno scrapes his nails against the sensitive skin of Jaemin’s lower stomach, right above where his pants are. He then leans down and bites a mark there, holding down Jaemin’s hips when they buck. Jaemin groans loudly, fisting the blankets next to him.

“Don’t tease, Nono. Please, please, please.” Jeno kisses his way back up Jaemin’s chest until he reaches Jaemin lips. He kisses Jaemin, and right away, it turns to more teeth and tongue than lips. Jeno runs his hands down to Jaemin’s pants, popping the button with one hand and tugging the zipper down. Jaemin arches into Jeno, pressing their chests together and shimmying down his pants and boxer briefs. Jeno lowers back down, letting his full weight rest against Jaemin. Jeno sucks on the skin of Jaemin’s pulse point on his neck, and Jaemin rakes his hands down Jeno’s back. Jaemin’s hips hitch against Jeno’s, making Jaemin hiss when the sensitive skin scrapes against Jeno’s jeans. 

“Are you sure you want—”

“I swear to God, Jeno, if you ask me one more time, I’m going to tie you up and do it myself.” Jeno’s hips thrust forward without meaning to, and Jeno groans at the thought. Jeno makes a mental note to ask Jaemin about that later.

“I was gonna ask if you were sure that you wanna be the one that’s fucked.” Jaemin pauses underneath him.

“Oh.” Jeno nips Jaemin’s ear.

“Yeah, ‘oh.’” Jaemin wiggles against Jeno, shifting until he can pop the button on Jeno’s jeans, tugging at them uselessly.

“Maybe next time we can switch, but right now, I want you in me like yesterday.” Jeno catches Jaemin’s lips once more before pulling off of him entirely. Jaemin pouts up at him. Jeno sticks his tongue out at him as he shimmies off his jeans. That makes Jaemin perk up.

“I feel like I should be throwing money at you.” 

“Aren’t you the dancer though?” Still, Jeno playfully swivels his hips as he pulls down his boxer briefs. Jaemin lets out a whoop, and Jeno rolls his eyes at him with a smile. He loves that their dynamic has transferred over to their sex life. Sure, Jaemin’s never really one to be quiet, but Jeno loves that they can laugh and joke like this. It really reminds Jeno that Jaemin is his friend first and foremost. Everything else is just… Extra. Extra and amazing. 

Jeno grabs the unreasonably large bottle of lube and slicks up a finger. He kneels between Jaemin’s legs. As he runs his finger along Jaemin’s rim, Jeno ducks down and licks over the head of Jaemin’s cock. Jaemin bucks off the bed with a loud moan. Responsive; it makes Jeno throb in return. Jeno pins Jaemin’s hips down with his left arm before going down on Jaemin once more while slowly pushing his finger into Jaemin’s warmth. 

The keening noises Jaemin makes is enough to get Jeno to full hardness. His legs kick as Jeno bobs his head in times with the finger slowly thrusting in and out. Jeno pops off of Jaemin, licks the head of his cock, and tentatively pushes a second finger against Jaemin’s rim in silent question. One which Jaemin answers loudly in the affirmative.

“Yes, please, please, please. Gimme another. Want more, more, more, more.” And who’s Jeno to refuse? Jeno pulls off of Jaemin for a moment, catching his leg with a laugh when Jaemin kicks him in protest, to grab more lube. Then he settles back into position, mouthing up Jaemin’s cock, and pressing two fingers slowly into Jaemin. Jaemin keens high and loud. Jeno pauses, looks up at Jaemin while half way down his cock. Jaemin meets his gaze and immediately scrunches his eyes closed.

“Oh my God, what the fuck, why are you so hot. Fuck. Fuck. Keep going. Please. _Please_.” Jeno smirks around Jaemin and takes him the rest of the way down. He eases his fingers all the way in and beginning to scissor them while he hums, both at the feeling of Jaemin clenching around his fingers and for Jaemin to feel the vibrations around him. 

Jaemin’s moans get louder and louder, and it makes Jeno feel hot hearing him like this. Jeno’s never been one to make a lot of noise in bed, and neither have most of his partners, but Jaemin sounds amazing. He loves to hear how good Jaemin feels, how good he’s making Jaemin feel. Jeno presses a third finger into Jaemin slowly, and Jaemin opens up beautifully for him. Hands shove at Jeno’s shoulders. Pulling off of Jaemin, Jeno looks up. Jaemin looks wrecked. His hair is sticking up from Jaemin running his hands through it and gripping the ends. His face is flushed pink, and his lips are so red that Jeno’s slightly worried they’re going to start to bleed. Jaemin’s eyes are blown wide and water slightly. 

“You feel so, so good, baby.” Jeno’s voice is raspy from deep throating Jaemin, but God, was it so worth it. Jaemin’s eyes screw shut, and his head throws back. He clenches around Jeno’s fingers. Jeno can’t wait to get his cock in him. And they must be on the same page because next thing he knows, Jaemin has a foot on his chest, pushing him away softly.

“I’m ready. So ready. The readiest. I need you to fuck me. Please, please, please. I’ll be so good, please just fuck me.” Jeno grabs the base of his cock so he doesn’t come from Jaemin’s pretty begging. Jeno cradles Jaemin’s face in his hands and kisses the pout on his lips. He pries Jaemin’s mouth open and just devours Jaemin with his lips, tongue, and teeth. When he finally pulls away, they stay close, panting into each other’s mouth.

“You’re gonna be a good boy for me, huh?” Jeno taunts. Jaemin immediately nods, earnest. “Gonna just lay there and take what I give you? Or should I make you do all the work?” Jaemin tangles his hands in Jeno’s hair, pulling him closer to kiss him slowly, thoroughly. Jeno smiles against Jaemin’s lips.

“Don’t care. Want you,” Jaemin pants when he pulls away. Jeno reaches over to the nightstand to grab a condom. He gives it to Jaemin to put on him because lube hands don’t really work for opening the foil packets. Jaemin’s hands are hot, hot, hot, as they pump Jeno a few times before putting on the rubber. Jeno hisses at the sensation of cool and wet after hot and dry, but it helps him focus on pulling back the pleasure so he doesn’t come. 

Jeno grabs Jaemin’s left leg, pushing it to his chest as he lines up and pushes in slowly. Both Jaemin and Jeno gasp for breath has the head of Jeno’s cock breaches the tight ring of muscle. Jaemin’s hot, hot, hot, and so tight around him, clenching. Jeno shifts forward another inch, and Jaemin lets out a high moan. He stops, unsure if the noise was made in pain or what. Jaemin pants, eyes clenched shut. Jeno cups Jaemin’s cheek with his free hand. Jaemin leans into it, turning his head to kiss the middle of Jeno’s palm, and when he opens his eyes, they’re bright and soft.

“Come on, sweets. Gimme more.” Jeno can’t say no to Jaemin, especially when he looks like that. He drops his hand from Jaemin’s face to the crook of where his shoulder and neck meet. He uses that hold to press down while shifting his hips forward, sliding into Jaemin the rest of the way. They both groan at the sensation. And as much as Jeno wants to move, he waits. Waits until the furrow between Jaemin’s brow smooths out. Waits until Jaemin’s grasping at his hips pulling. Waits until Jaemin gets frustrated, moving his hips against Jeno’s without much luck. 

“I thought you were gonna be good, baby,” Jeno says mildly even though he’s going crazy watching Jaemin get more and more frustrated underneath him. “Good boys ask for what they want.” 

“Please move.” It’s a whispered request that has Jeno’s resolve breaking in a heartbeat. Jeno pulls out carefully until only the head of his cock is left inside Jaemin. He looks up and sees Jaemin watching him, eyes dark, dark, dark, and biting his bottom lip. Jeno snaps his hips forward. And Jaemin _screams_. He’s worried he was too rough until Jaemin’s pushing and clawing at his hips to keep them moving, so Jeno keeps thrusting. Long, deep, _hard_. The bed frame knocks against the wall with the movement, and Jaemin’s making these cute ‘ah, ah, ah’ noises every time their hips meet. Jeno drops his grip from Jaemin’s knee, letting the leg down, but grabs his hands and holds them above Jaemin’s head. Like this, they’re pressed chest to chest, sharing the same breath, Jeno getting deeper as he rocks his hips. Jaemin’s cock rubs between their stomachs, precum making it slick and sticky. Jaemin’s in a state of constant moaning with all the stimulation, and Jeno hides a groan by biting Jaemin’s neck, kissing any skin he can reach.

“You’re such a good boy, baby. You’re being so, so good for me. Sound amazing when I fuck you. Feel so good around me. You’re so good to me,” Jeno growls into Jaemin’s ear. Jaemin whines high in his throat. 

“Gonna. I’m gonna come if you don’t. Stop. Jeno. Gonna. Gonna come.” Jeno licks into Jaemin’s mouth, swallowing his words, but he doesn’t stop rocking. Jeno lets go of Jaemin’s wrists and leans back onto his heels, grips Jaemin’s hips and lengthens his thrusts again. Jaemin reaches down and grabs his cock, pumping it until Jeno knocks his hand aside. He thrusts hard twice, pressing bruises into Jaemin’s hips, before reaching down to stroke Jaemin’s cock. Jaemin clenches around him, and Jeno feels the familiar pull of heat in his lower stomach. Jaemin continues to mutter to himself, about how close he is, how good Jeno feels, some scrambled words that don’t make any sense at all. Jeno runs his thumb over the head of Jaemin’s cock, tightening his fist a little more. Jaemin’s mouth falls open in a silent scream as he comes, white ropes falling over Jeno’s fist and onto his chest. Jeno continues to roll his hips, chasing his own release as Jaemin tightens impossibly around him. It only takes a few more thrusts before Jeno’s letting out a whimper of his own and spilling into the condom. 

Arms wrap around him, pulling him down until his forehead rests on Jaemin’s chest. Jaemin’s chest heaves as he comes down, and Jeno feels like he’s just run a mile. His mind is mush as he tries to breath. Gentle hands tilt Jeno’s face up, and he’s greeted with a smiling Jaemin. Jaemin presses soft kisses all over Jeno’s face until Jeno pouts and then Jaemin kisses Jeno’s lips so, so softly. 

“Hi,” Jaemin whispers against his lips. Jeno smiles.

“Hi.” He lifts himself up slightly. Ugh, sticky. “I should probably get off before we’re stuck together permanently.” 

“Didn’t we just get off?” Jeno rolls his eyes at the joke but smiles at Jaemin’s giggles. He slowly pulls out of Jaemin, rubbing circles into his hip with his thumb when Jaemin winces with sensitivity. Jeno makes quick work of the condom, knotting it, and throwing it into his trash can. As soon as he’s done, Jaemin octopuses around him again.

“Jaemin-ah, I need to go get something to clean us up.” Jaemin pouts.

“No, no, not Jaemin-ah. The other one.” Oh God, how is he so cute.

“Baby,” Jeno coos, kissing Jaemin’s sternum. “Let me go so I can clean you up.” Jaemin pouts harder.  
“Don’t wanna.”

“I’ll be right back.” 

“Promise?” Jeno leans up to kiss Jaemin, lips warm and soft as they slide together. Jeno glides his tongue along Jaemin’s bottom lip, bringing it into his mouth. Jeno leans back when he thinks he’s gotten his point across.

“Of course.” Jaemin finally relents, and Jeno peels himself off of him. Seriously, dried cum is no joke. Quickly, Jeno grabs a warm wet cloth from the bathroom. He wipes himself off, rinses the cloth, and brings it back to his bedroom where Jaemin is still spread on his bed. Jeno takes his time running the cloth along Jaemin’s skin, making sure to get all the lube and cum off of him. Jeno doesn’t look as he throws the cloth behind him and crawls back into bed with Jaemin. Immediately, Jaemin rolls over and latches onto Jeno. Jeno runs a hand through Jaemin’s hair, scratching his scalp lightly with his nails. Jaemin hums contently, closing his eyes and resting his head on Jeno’s chest. 

“Thank you,” Jaemin says softly. 

“For what?” Jeno asks bemused. Jaemin props his chin on Jeno’s chest so he can look up at him. Jaemin runs a finger down Jeno’s nose, booping the tip. 

“I don’t know. For being you? For being so sweet? Today was honestly the best date I’ve ever had. To be fair, I knew it was going to be great just because I knew that it was going to be with you, but you took me to a dog cafe. A fucking dog cafe! That’s amazing. Truly god-level on the boyfriend scale.” Jeno blushes at the praise but smiles at Jaemin anyways. 

“I know how much you like dogs, baby. Seemed like a no brainer. I don’t think that ranks me as god-level. Maybe superior-level?” Jaemin leans up and kisses him.

“The fact that you thought about how much I liked dogs and decided to take me there for our date just shows how great you are. God-level.” 

“Naw, I just l—” Too soon for that. “Like you a lot. Of course I’m gonna pick something you like.” Jaemin smiles up at Jeno knowingly. 

“I ‘L’ you too,” Jaemin says warmly. Jeno flushes hot. It might be too soon seeing as they’ve only had their first date today, but really, what about their relationship has been conventional? They met because there were people who decided to fuck in a library of all things. And they’ve been electric ever since. Today just made things official, but the feelings have been mounting since they met.

“I love you,” Jeno whispers. Even though Jaemin basically said it, it still feels like falling off a cliff watching Jaemin’s face for his reaction. Jaemin beams, smiling brighter than Jeno’s ever seen before.

“And I love you,” Jaemin says back. Jeno smiles at Jaemin big enough that his eyes scrunch up to the point he can’t really see. A warmth settles in his chest. Jaemin and him may not be conventional, but that’s okay. Unconventional is them, and Jeno wouldn’t have it any other way. 

“Hey, Jeno?”

“No.”

“You don’t even know what I was going to say!”

“We’re not fucking in the library.”

“I wasn’t going to suggest that.” 

“Oh, really? What were you going to say then?”

“I was going to… Okay, but how the fuck did you know I was going to say that?”

“I know you, baby.”

“But maybe we could help some other poor, lonely people find love too! We’d be like modern day cupids!”

“Absolutely not.” 

“But. Please?”

“No.”

**Author's Note:**

> Stream Ridin. Support the boys.  
> Twitter: @SugarLeigh_AO3 (I don't post often, but dm me if you wanna chat!)


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